Frequently Asked Questions

San Quentin SkunkWorks is a resident-run nonprofit organization operating inside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center in California. Founded and led by incarcerated people, we create culture change through peer leadership development, community programming, and transformative art. Our work builds a new model for rehabilitation centered on compassion, agency, and shared humanity.

SkunkWorks is founded, designed, and led by incarcerated people at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center. Outside professionals and partner organizations collaborate with us, but the vision, programs, and day-to-day leadership come from residents inside the facility.

Yes. San Quentin SkunkWorks is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2023.

We run five programs from inside the walls:

Leadership Foundry: a year-long cohort training resident facilitators and leaders

Transformative Recreation: First Fridays drawing 100+ each month, plus weekly chess

Space for Change: our environmental design initiative rehabilitating punitive spaces with color, beauty, and art. To date five completed works (four inside San Quentin, one paired downtown San Francisco) with four more in development, including a 33,000 sq ft mural you can see from the yard

Research: a co-designed study with UC Irvine’s Games + Learning + Society Center on how our programming changes outcomes inside

Policy: we were a lead sponsor on SB 498, California’s tablet messaging and call duration reform, co-drafted from inside. The advocacy continues. Current work includes our Normalized Clothing proposal, a feasible alternative to default uniform norms that preserves safety and operational clarity for staff while offering a mode of self-expression to residents. We also advance policy through participatory design, moving from lived experience toward authored legislation that creates enforceable, systemic change. This research is on a path toward formal publication so findings can travel to correctional facilities nationwide.

Space for Change (previously known as the Chiaroscuro Mural Project) is our flagship art initiative. It brings world-class contemporary artists inside San Quentin Rehabilitation Center to create large-scale artwork that transforms institutional spaces into environments of beauty, reflection, and hope. Featured artists include Faith XLVII from South Africa and eL Seed from France and Tunisia.

Art changes environments, and environments change people. When incarcerated people see their surroundings treated with beauty and intention, it shifts how we see ourselves and each other. Space for Change demonstrates that rehabilitation is not just about programs. It is about creating spaces where human creativity is visible every day.

Most programs focus on changing individual behavior. SkunkWorks focuses on changing institutional culture, including the environment, relationships, and shared values that affect everyone inside the facility, staff included. Our programs are resident-designed and resident-led, which creates authentic ownership and lasting impact.

Visits to San Quentin Rehabilitation Center are governed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and require advance approval.

General public and volunteer visitors should inquire with CDCR about access.

Media and press interested in covering SkunkWorks or Space for Change should contact us directly at press@sanquentinskunkworks.org to discuss access and scheduling.

Partners and collaborators can reach out to explore opportunities for engagement inside the facility.

We welcome artists, educators, philanthropists, and advocates who want to experience this work firsthand.

There are several ways to get involved. You can donate to support our programs and Space for Change, partner with us as an artist, organization, or cultural institution, share our story and media coverage, or contact us to explore volunteer and collaboration opportunities.

Media Inquiries: press@sanquentinskunkworks.org

Mailing Address: San Quentin SkunkWorks, 300 Gooding Way #334, Albany, CA 94706

San Quentin SkunkWorks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.