Katizana art workshops bring hope to inmates amid Haiti’s increasing prison challenges

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Joosnel Trézil and Ebens Edzer St-Ford, two inmates at Haiti’s National Penitentiary— the central civil prison in Port-au-Prince—began drawing in their cells as a way to endure the harsh conditions of incarceration. In 2017, they founded Katizana, an art initiative designed to showcase inmate-made creativity by creating illustrated cards that can, in turn, generate donations to improve their living conditions in prison.

Launched in March 2017 under the label “Talan Prizonye” or “Prisoners’ Talent,” the project became “Katizana” in June — a fusion of two Haitian creole words: Kat and Atizana for Cards and Crafts— because the prisoners were using their hands to work, aiming to be better accepted by society without discrimination.

“They produced a series of beautiful illustrated cards to display in the community, thanks to a group of young people who formed a promotional committee for that purpose,” Cassandrine Destima, a leading member, told The Haitian Times.

The workshop, initiated by Trézil and St-Ford inside the Port-au-Prince main detention center, offered inmates a way to express themselves artistically and earn a modest income. Their work became a survival vehicle—providing hygiene products, food and legal aid. Today, cards from Katizana are sold in several supermarkets in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area, such as  Delimart, K-Naval Market and Caleb Supermarket, with prices ranging from approximately $1.15 to $1.88 USD.

Even inmates with modest drawing skills found a sense of freedom by creating their artwork without anxiety, hoping for positive feedback from exhibitions so they could continue to meet their basic needs while incarcerated in appalling conditions.

“It’s through this project that one of the founders was able to regain his freedom, along with four others,” Destima said.

 “With the donations raised from selling the cards, they were able to hire a lawyer and get a court date. Some of them had already spent between seven and nine—even 13 years in prison—without ever being tried,” she lamented.

One of the two founders was released in February 2023 after nine years in detention. The second founder, who spent 12 years in prison, cut all ties with Katizana— now an official organization— after escaping from prison in March 2024 during the gang-led Port-au-Prince jailbreak. Other workshop members who became fugitives after escaping from jail during the series of attacks also severed their relations with the organization. 

“Since the series of prison breaks, we simply haven’t heard any news about them,” said Richard Trézil, Human Resources Manager. “This has slowed down civil society’s efforts to support Katizana’s activities.”

A promotional committee brings the cards to the public

In 2018, a group of volunteers responded to a written invitation from the inmates and formed the Katizana promotional committee. Their mission: exhibit and sell the cards, deliver training and provide hot meals when possible.

Destima, a photographer and medical student, now 27, joined the committee in 2021 and became its cultural coordinator. “I feel a great sense of pride, and I love what I do,” said the native of northern Haiti’s Plaisance, who grew up in Sartre, a community in Cité Soleil—a Port-au-Prince gang-controlled slum.

She said she has never regretted participating in this initiative, which offers hope and support to inmates living in deplorable conditions inside the country’s correctional facilities.

At its height, the workshop produced 40 cards daily, totaling 1,200 per month. In Port-au-Prince, Katizana had about fifty prisoner artists and around twenty in Mirebalais. The committee provided materials, including construction paper, cardboard, pencils, rulers and erasers.

Amid overcrowding and neglect, art offers dignity with help from IMPACT-E

Before the Viv Ansanm gang coalition attacked the Port-au-Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets prisons last year, the Association of Volunteers for the Reintegration of Detainees in Haiti (AVREDH)  reported that the prison—designed for 800—held over 4,000 inmates.

In some 20-square-meter cells set to accommodate 20 people, more than 60 people live in conditions with no room to lie down. According to the United Nations, many detainees remain locked up 24 hours a day for security or logistical reasons. AVREDH denounces this severe overcrowding, which restricts access to food, water and health care.

In this environment, Katizana offers structure and meaning. “It brings hope to people living in the most inhumane conditions,” the organization’s cultural coordinator, Destima, said.

With support from Haitian civil society and youth advocate group IMPACT-E, Katizana launched workshops in other prisons, including the Reintegration Center for Minors in Conflict with the Law (CERMICOL), a juvenile detention center, and the Mirebalais prison.

In 2023, Katizana won $2,500 through the JEN ANTREPRENE program, a youth entrepreneurship competition organized by IMPACT-E. The group supports over 100 youth with training in leadership and community service.

Following Katizana’s success, the organizers launched the third edition of the national contest “JEN ANTREPRENE” to support young people working in marginalized and hard-to-reach communities. This year, they announced funding of approximately $2,310 to support high-impact startups, with each project receiving around $770.

“Despite major challenges, this project will continue to grow with the support of organizations like IMPACT-E,” Destima rejoiced. 

“Katizana promotes creativity, culture and economic empowerment—especially among young women,” IMPACT-E organizers told The Haitian Times.

Setbacks amid insecurity—but hope endures

Despite its growth, Katizana has been severely affected by Haiti’s increasing insecurity. The destruction of the Port-au-Prince workshop during prison breaks in 2024 represented a major setback. Ongoing insecurity has made it impossible to expand their activities to other detention centers. The attack on the Mirebalais prison in March 2025 has further undermined Katizana’s progress.

Since the prison break, CERMICOL—originally built as a detention center for minors—has become nearly the only operational detention center in the capital. It now holds detainees of all ages and genders: minors, adult men and women, as well as elderly individuals in conflict with the law. 

According to a September 2024 report by the National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH), the center— designed to hold 100 minors—is severely overcrowded, with about 370 detainees.

The CERMICOL courtyards, once reserved for children’s recreational activities, are now used by women for laundry. Several educational spaces have also been turned into dormitories for men, depriving young detainees of a vital environment for their rehabilitation

“In 2025, Katizana is going through a very difficult period due to the level of insecurity,” said Destima. “We can’t exhibit the cards created by detainees, which is how we collect donations to support them.”

Still, the team persists. They have announced a training on child psychology for August and a Human Rights Day event in December to deliver food, hygiene kits and medical support to 500 prisoners.

“To keep these activities going, we urgently need financial support,” Katizana’s cultural coordinator pleaded. 

“The project depends on the income generated from selling the cards, which are still available in several supermarkets across the capital.”

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