The CAA’s Prison Art Program

Harnessing the Transformative Power of Art Behind Bars
The Prison Art Program, a key initiative of the CAA’s Healing Arts initiative, provides visual arts education and songwriting instruction to incarcerated men at Walton Correctional Institution (WCI) in DeFuniak Springs, FL. Through artistic expression, the program fosters personal growth, emotional healing, and a renewed sense of purpose, demonstrating the profound impact of the arts on rehabilitation and community reintegration.
Program Components
Therapeutic Arts
This initiative brings art instruction, materials, and mentorship to WCI residents, encouraging creativity, self-reflection, and emotional expression. Participants explore various artistic techniques while building confidence, discipline, and a constructive outlet for personal growth. Rooted in Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development, the program helps inmates develop essential life skills through therapeutic artistic practices.
Beyond Bars: Songwriting Program
Launched in 2023, Beyond Bars gives a voice to the voiceless by teaching songwriting as a tool for self-expression and healing. Participants learn to write, workshop, and perform original songs, fostering emotional resilience, identity development, and trauma processing. Since its inception, the program has served over 300 men across three dorms (Faith & Character, Re-entry, and Veterans Honors) and the WCI work camp annually.
Program History & Impact
Founded in 2020 through a collaboration with Restorative Justice volunteers Libby Fisher and Erica Averion, the Prison Art Program began with art classes led by artist Bradley Copeland. The first cohort’s work debuted in the online exhibit “Con-scious Expressions: An Insider’s Perspective,” later showcased at Emerald Coast Theatre Company and Perla Bakery in 2021.
In 2022, the CAA expanded the program to include weekly on-site art instruction, exhibition opportunities, and ongoing support. Clinical Psychologist and artist Anna Balfour joined the Visual Arts instructor lineup in 2023 and she continues to serve as lead instructor. Also in 2023, the program evolved further with the Beyond Bars Songwriting Residency, developed and led by singer-songwriter Caitlin Cannon, empowering participants to share their stories through music.
Program Instructors
Visual Arts

Anna Balfour
Anna Balfour was a Clinical Psychologist for over 40 years, a journey that began in London, then Amsterdam, Liberia West Africa and Philadelphia, before moving to Santa Rosa Beach in 2018. She now loves exploring her ‘interior design’ by using various materials - be it plastic piping to make herons, repurposing discarded things or painting - in order to make what is going on inside, visible and tangible.
Since 2023, Anna has been running the CAA weekly healing art program for men at Walton Correctional Institution in Defuniak Springs. She uses various materials and art exercises with a weekly theme, such as ‘Letting go’, ‘Changing perspectives’, ‘‘Re-creation and Re-working’, to facilitate the men’s deeper journey inside of themselves, as they reflect and review their story through creative art.
Program Instructors
BEYOND BARS

Caitlin Cannon
Shortly after Caitlin Cannon took third place honors at this year’s Telluride Bluegrass festival, Saving Country Music published these prophetic words, “She’s not a songwriter for the winners. She’s a songwriter for the broken, the downtrodden, the losers, the motherf—. She sings about real sh— that most other songwriters don’t have the guts to broach. A crack pool player and a hilarious person on stage that could have a second career as a comedian, Caitlin Cannon is one of those country artists that slides so criminally under the radar, it angers the blood…”
While Cannon has done her share of winning (Songwriter Serenade 1st Place 2023) her ambitions do seem to reflect the above review. Inspired by the 33 year-to-date incarceration of her brother, she created a songwriting program in partnership with the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County (30A) that holds a residency for her at Walton Correctional Institute where she teaches inmates to write songs.

David Borné
David Borné is a beloved Nashville based independent singer/songwriter/artist who has been singing for his supper for over 20 years. After honing his skills in bar bands from Louisiana to Tennessee, Borné burst on the songwriting scene in Nashville with the release of his 2016 debut, Break My Heart, which debuted at #4 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter chart and featured collaborations with then up and coming Americana stars Sierra Ferrell, Leah Blevins and Ruston Kelly. Borné has since shared the stage with the likes of Ferrell, Blevins, Kelly, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, Delbert McClinton, Stephen Wilson Jr., Lainey Wilson, Big Al Anderson, Lucie Silvas, Ashley Ray, Kelly Clarkson, Brothers Osborne, and Sean McConnell. He has also had his songs recorded by William Clark Green, Charlie Mars, Paul McDonald, Bre Kennedy, Sara Jean Kelley, Fancy Hagood, and many others. Borné's artistry and songwriting is fully realized on his 2023 full length debut, GENESIS. Declared “A Masterpiece” by Revival Roadshow, produced by Jarrad K (Ruston Kelly, Lucie Silvas), and engineered by GRAMMY winner Gena Johnson (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton), an incomparable ethereal grit runs through the 13 track GENESIS as we follow Borné on his path of personal healing: death, rebirth, and beginning again.

Wyatt Espalin
In 2024, Wyatt Espalin will release his first full-length album. 15 original songs have been recorded thanks to a tremendous turn-out for this Songwriter/Singer/Fiddler’s Kickstarter campaign. After the daunting task of whittling them into a 10-song, fully-produced album recorded in the mountains of North Georgia, the hard-traveling troubadour has decided to knock out an unplugged version of the same album. Wyatt has shared the stage with many of his songwriting heroes and has taken notes from the best performing singer/songwriters. This is his sixth appearance at 30A Songwriting Festival and his energy, dynamic vocals, story-telling and fiery fiddle only enhances his song-sharing.

Jessica Sharman
Jessica Sharman is a #1, gold-disc selling songwriter, topliner and producer. She works across multiple genres including Pop, Americana, Country, Indie and EDM. Born and raised in London, she now lives in Nashville.
Writer / Topliner
Jessica turns the everyday into poetry and her melodies are the ones you just can't forget. She writes songs that help artists cut through the noise and connect with their audience, to make them think, feel and dance.
Producer
Working with artists on both major and indie labels, Jessica is the go-to producer for lofi percussion and intimate, layered harmonies that place the vocal front and center.
Artist
Peachkit, Jessica's sync artist project, is The Queen of Thinking Pop combining lyrical storytelling with unforgettable hooks.
Online Exhibitions
Art created through the Prison Art Program is regularly featured in public and online exhibitions, offering a window into the lived experiences and creative expressions of incarcerated artists. These exhibits highlight the work of residents from WCI’s Faith & Character, Re-entry, and Veterans Honors dorms, deepening community engagement and advocacy for arts in rehabilitation.
WCI Arts Education Program
Walton Correctional Institution (WCI) residents participate in a weekly class led by artist and instructor Bradley Copeland who challenges them to let go of any predetermined plan and allow the enjoyment and exploration of the process to guide them. These original artworks were created during the Summer 2023 sessions.

Surrender: Letting Go To Gain Perspective
“Surrender: Letting Go To Gain Perspective” is the first outcome of the CAA’s Prison Art Program expansion. The show features more than 30 original paintings and works on paper created by residents of the Walton Correctional Institution (WCI) who took part in the CAA’s first Prison Art Education program.
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