We were lucky to catch up with Raphaëlle Duché recently and have shared our conversation below.

Raphaëlle, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Back in 2018, Buck Adams – a veteran & social entrepreneur – was serving time in Colorado while Raphie – a French law graduate & graphic designer – was playing semi-professional American football for the Denver team. Buck and Raphie met during an inside-out workshop about communication and non-violence in Camp Georges West, a minimum security prison in Golden, Colorado. During his incarceration, Buck witnessed the incredible creative talent hidden behind prison walls and saw these masterpieces being traded for commissary items: a portrait for a pack of ramen noodles. He thought there needs to be a venue for these artists to display their work to the public and receive financial compensation for it. A year later, Buck was released from prison and approached Raphie with the idea of creating a platform for incarcerated artists to sell their art. Raphie loved it and that’s how Art for Redemption was born.

Art for Redemption is the largest online marketplace for prison art in the US. We represent artists incarcerated across the entire US and consign their art pieces. The artists receive an industry-standard commission for the sale of their art, which allows them to pay societal obligations, stay in touch with their families without going into debt, afford daily commissary items and save up for their release which can greatly reduce recidivism. We sell the original art pieces, but we also have a print-on-demand service where we sell merch (t-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc…) using the amazing art they send us, and turning them into one-of-a-kind outfits.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Art for Redemption was founded by Buck Adams after he served a few years at Arkansas Valley Correction Facility in Colorado. During his incarceration, Buck witnessed the incredible creative talent hidden behind prison walls and saw these masterpieces being traded for commissary items: a portrait for a pack of ramen noodles. He thought there needs to be a venue for these incarcerated artists to display their work to the public and receive financial compensation for it.

Raphie is a French citizen, expatriated in the US since 2017. She came to play a season of semi-professional American football with the Denver Dream, as part of the Legends Football League. A Law graduate (she studied criminal justice & law in France and Scotland) she wanted to volunteer inside a US prison after learning that the US is the country that incarcerates the most people in the world. She wanted to see first-hand what this mean for these people in prison and learn more about the US criminal justice system, its flaws, and its profit-driven mindset.

Buck and Raphie met during an inside-out workshop about communication and non-violence in Camp Georges West, a minimum security prison in Golden, Colorado. After Buck’s release, they started working together in creating what is today Art for Redemption, the largest online marketplace for prison art. We sell original artworks created by artists previously or currently incarcerated, as well as print-on-demand merch (t-shirts, hoodies, hats, etc…) featuring these prison artworks and thus creating unique outfits that contribute to changing the prison system.

For each sale, the incarcerated artists receive an industry-standard commission which they can use to pay societal obligations such as restitution, stay in touch with their families without going into debt, afford daily commissary items, and save up for their release which can greatly reduce recidivism. The average hourly wage in prison is $0.52 cents (for the States that pay, because some don’t). For example, as a GED tutor, an incarcerated individual earned 3.6 cents an hour after deductions. He would have to work 10 hours to afford a pen. Considering that everything in prison has a cost (essential items such as soap, phone calls, clothes, etc…) this slave labor keeps incarcerated individuals isolated, sinks their families into the spiral of debts and poverty, and leaves little to no chance at rehabilitation: how can someone who spent decades in prison be successful at re-entering society with no money on their account, no family of friends due to years of not being to afford to communicate, stepping into a world that they need to re-learn? That is why the recidivism rate is above 75% . The US prison system is designed with profit for the stakeholders in mind, not to rehabilitate incarcerated individuals and not for society. 90% of the people in prison get released one day. They will be our neighbors, our families, and our friends. Offering viable ways to rehabilitate and venues for talented individuals to set themselves up for success is what we strive to offer.

Alongside the financial compensation aspect of our marketplace, being able to display their art to the public and be seen for something beautiful, re-humanizes these individuals too often reduced and referred to as “criminals” or “DOC numbers”. As many of our artists say “Art is my escape. A way to channel my emotions and learn about myself. When I pour my mind for hours into this drawing, I can evade the darkness of prison for a moment. And if I’m physically locked up, this art piece is a part of me that can be free.” Creativity and art have many therapeutic benefits and in prison, it’s sometimes the only way for some of these individuals to stay sane and to find the strength to keep going.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

Our products are one-of-a-kind art pieces created in prison by incarcerated artists. We consign, market and sell their work for them on our online marketplace specifically dedicated to prison art. We represent over 400 artists incarcerated across the entire US. Depending on the State of incarceration and correctional facilities, artists in prison have very different access to art supplies. While some States like Washington allow paint (oil, acrylic,…) and offer canvas at the commissary, some States like Missouri barely allow the use of notebook paper and classic pencil. Nonetheless, these drastic hindrances to art supplies spark the creativity of incarcerated artists who can be so resourceful in finding ways to express themselves and create original artwork. Some will use prison bedsheets or old book covers as canvas and coffee or Kool-aid to paint their ideas. Thus, we have a very broad and wide range of prison art: from realistic black & white drawings to abstract acrylic paintings, there is an art piece for everyone!
To get started, we first did a National Prison Art Contest back in 2020 asking for incarcerated artists to participate with the goal of creating a coffee table art book featuring the 100 winners. This allowed us to get connected with artists in a few States, and once we launched our marketplace and started selling artwork to the public, paying our incarcerated artists, the word-of-mouth did it’s job inside prison walls and we now receive new original prison artwork every week.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

I was reading a book called “The power of moments” by Cheap & Dan Heath in which they explain how certain experiences have an extraordinary impact and that we can create these moments. That people tend to remember experiences more than tangible objects. This got me thinking about how I can bring this to my business. After all, I just sell a product: a prison art piece. How can I make this more of an experienced rather than just a purchase? Something that will bring an extra dimension and interest in purchasing through my marketplace? And I thought that it would be great if customers who bought an art piece could leave a message for the incarcerated artist. So I added a box at my checkout offering the option for the customer to type a message for the artists that we later pass on to them when we pay them their commission.

And the result has been mind-blowing! About 85% of my orders always have a message for the artist, and creating this link between inside and outside prison, through art, has had a tremendously positive effect on both parties. I’m just going to quote a testimonial from one of our artists that says it all:

“Thanks also for allowing buyers to send me a message. I got a bit emotional from them. To people who use the internet, the kind comments may seem pretty normal and everyday, but for me or anyone else in my situation, it’s really other-worldly. All I can say back is wow and thank you.” – Allen H., currently incarcerated in Texas.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artforredemption.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artforredemption/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtforRedemptionCo
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/artforredemption/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/artforredempt
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvyzvIsonm5j6ywIWStdTZg

Image Credits
Artists: “Woman” by Eric Lynch “Apparatus” by Lee Turner “Danza Mortal” by Miguel Angel Venegas “Skulls” by Chris Stark