CⓞL𝓊MBIΔ
C๏𝕝𝕝EC𝔱IV𝔼
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FRAUGHT IMAGINARIES
ANTI-CARCERAL COLORING BOOK
Limited edition of 125
ORDER HERE
Limited edition of 125
ORDER HERE
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ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE
The Columbia Collective is a collective of emerging female and trans artists with experiences of incarceration. Founded in 2019 at the Columbia Secure Center for Girls, a maximum-security juvenile facility in New York, the collective uses collaborative artistic practice to challenge institutional boundaries and imagine possibilities beyond confinement. Although the facility has closed, the collective continues its work.
The collective has exhibited and collaborated with Pioneer Works, MOXI, Siena College, Border Patrol, Shandaken Projects, Athens Cultural Center, and Girls Inc.
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ARTIST PORTFOLIOS
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PAST EXHIBTIONS/EVENTS
SHE/ROSE
by M.A. Donato 
Marilynn's first book, She / Rose, is a collection of poems written before and after the author's stay in the New York State Columbia Secure Center for Girls. A paint chip poetry workshop followed where participants crafted poems with the author using the names of paint samples.
Special thanks to Border Patrol, CA for printing and distributing the book and for hosting our panel discussion.
Sands >< 𝔅𝔢𝔶𝔬𝔫𝔡/𝔗𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥/𝔅𝔢𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢 >< Time
MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation in collaboration with Girls Inc. of Greater Santa BarbaraJuly - January, 2024
PRESS RELEASE & FREE COLORING BOOK PAGES ︎︎︎DOWNLOAD
BILLBOARD EXHIBITION
Exhibited on the occasion of "A Copious Flow," organized by Shandaken Projects and co-sponsored by the Athens Cultural Center
Featuring Artists :
J︎y, Marshm︎llow, Mari︎ynn & R︎ry Rei
August 1-28, 2023
J︎y, Marshm︎llow, Mari︎ynn & R︎ry Rei
August 1-28, 2023
HISTORY OF THE COLLECTIVE
The Columbia Collective was founded in 2019 by artist Maggie Hazen at the Columbia Secure Center for Girls, a maximum-security juvenile detention facility in New York’s Hudson Valley. Named after the institution where it originated, the Collective emerged as a community of young female and trans artists navigating the conditions of incarceration through collaborative artistic practice. The group currently consists of six artists—Marshmallow, Jay, Juste-A, Marilynn, Torei, and Toni—and is co-directed by Hazen and curator Sofia Thiệu D’Amico.
From 2019 to 2021, the artists met weekly in a studio program modeled after graduate-level MFA education. Rather than following a prescribed curriculum of assignments and grades, participants developed independent artistic practices through experimentation, critical dialogue, and sustained mentorship. This approach established a space for creative autonomy within an institution structured around the regulation of movement, expression, and individual agency.
Following the closure of Columbia Secure Center in 2021, the Collective continued its work beyond the institution. Hazen has since expanded her teaching and collaborative practice into other New York State correctional facilities while working with community partners to support the artists’ continued creative development and transitions beyond incarceration. Through exhibitions, fundraising, storytelling, and mentorship, the Collective has sustained relationships and artistic exchange across the boundaries of confinement.
From 2019 to 2021, the artists met weekly in a studio program modeled after graduate-level MFA education. Rather than following a prescribed curriculum of assignments and grades, participants developed independent artistic practices through experimentation, critical dialogue, and sustained mentorship. This approach established a space for creative autonomy within an institution structured around the regulation of movement, expression, and individual agency.
Following the closure of Columbia Secure Center in 2021, the Collective continued its work beyond the institution. Hazen has since expanded her teaching and collaborative practice into other New York State correctional facilities while working with community partners to support the artists’ continued creative development and transitions beyond incarceration. Through exhibitions, fundraising, storytelling, and mentorship, the Collective has sustained relationships and artistic exchange across the boundaries of confinement.
JUSTE-A
Juste-A was born and raised in Bronx, Ny for 16 years then moved to Oneonta, NY. Growing up Juste-A thought life was going to be rainbows and unicorns, but then it wasn’t. Now Juste-A has been through a lot and can now see what reality is and is learning who she is and trying to find her voice. Being in jail is not giving Juste-A an opportunity to find herself. She has no one to confide in so she writes.
JAY
Jay is 16 years old as he writes this, and he used to live in Syracuse. Now, he lives at Brookwood Secure, whatever that’s suppose to be. Because even though he lived there, it’s not his home. He doesn’t have one. He’s been through some struggles, everyone has at some point, and he expesses how he feels about those struggles by pouring it out onto paper. Take a look at his art, and maybe you’ll feel something too.
MARILYNN
I am 18 years old. I was first placed into the system at the age of 13 and remianed there for about three years. I’ve been to a lot of different juvenile detention facilities. The system has taught me so much but so little at the same time. I enjoy drawing, painting, and reading which got me through most of my many rainy days. I aspire to help those who once were in similiar positions as me. 
