Art Beyond Cornell

Art Beyond Cornell is a student-run organization that aims to bring new perspectives to both Cornell students and institutionalized youth by providing a means of self-expression, communication, and growth through art. We volunteer weekly at the MacCormick Secure Center and bring a wide range of art projects to the residents. By sharing these projects with the Cornell community, we hope to cultivate an awareness of the American carceral system, and specifically its consequences for youth, on Cornell's campus.

ABC was founded in 2005 in collaboration with Lansing Secure Center. When they closed several years later, ABC began volunteering at MacCormick Secure Center, a partnership that has spanned nearly two decades. Every week ABC’s student volunteers commit an hour round trip to MacCormick to complete art projects alongside the residents. These projects are a powerful source of connection across the divide of the carceral system and a vital, yet rare, opportunity for the young men at MacCormick to engage in creative expression. 

Weekly on Thursdays, ABC volunteers travel in small groups to MacCormick to complete art projects alongside small cohorts of MacCormick residents. We plan projects based on the interests of the residents at MacCormick and offer all residents and volunteers the opportunity to display their artwork at our annual end of year art gallery. In addition to volunteering, we foster an atmosphere of learning and advocacy on campus by partnering with experts in the arts justice and prison advocacy fields on speaker events and workshops open to all Cornell students.  

In 2025, we expanded our community partnerships to include Prisoner Express at the Durland Alternatives Library. Now, ABC volunteers have the opportunity to produce two newsletters per semester: an arts newsletter and well-being newsletter. These essential creative and well-being materials are distributed to Prisoner Express’s network of over 1,000 incarcerated individuals across the country. 

As a registered student organization, we are committed to equal access to all of our programs and do not discriminate based on any protected identity status.