Thanks for visiting “The PIC Is…” official site! All of the resources and curricula featured on this site are connected to Project NIA, an organization based in Chicago’s Rogers Park that works to end juvenile incarceration by developing community-based alternatives. The Chicago PIC Teaching Collective, an initiative of Project NIA, has been working since 2010 to develop curriculum and resources about mass incarceration including our PIC 101 workshop. The collective is responsible for “The PIC Is…” ‘zine, and we created this site to make this ‘zine and our many other resources and projects available to you.
Project NIA and the PIC Teaching Collective (and most of our curriculum, ‘zines, and other projects) are primarily volunteer-led initiatives created with the long-term goal of dismantling the prison system. We see our contribution to that process in part as helping to create art, educational resources, and writing that helps make the struggle to end mass incarceration accessible and widespread
All of our resources are free, and most were developed collectively by volunteers. While we have been able to print paper copies of some ‘zines and guides due to generous donations and partnerships, most are only available online. For this reason, we strongly encourage you to download, copy, distribute, and make serious use of these resources—we only ask that you give credit to artists and creators where they are named. But no, we cannot mail you paper copies.
If you have questions or want make a donation, please contact projectnia@hotmail.com.