Happy 14th Birthday Inside Out!

On March 2nd, 2011 JR launched the Inside Out Project and asked the question: “Can art change the world?” Since then, Inside Out has visited 153 countries and territories, helping more than 2,500 communities from every continent to share their stories and create a work of art. The Project was only supposed to last one year, but through the dedication and support of over half a million participants, we are still printing, shipping, and pasting portraits on the streets of the world, fourteen years later!

Group Action: IOP Mauritanie, Nouakchott, Mauritania, May 2022, 97 Portraits

From the Amazon rainforest to the concrete jungle of New York City, the Sahara Desert to the North Pole, Inside Out Actions have sprouted around the globe, showcasing the faces of participants of all ages and walks of life. We even brought Inside Out to a maximum-security prison in California! There are still so many places we have yet to visit, such as Libya, Niger, Somalia, Suriname, Greenland, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Laos, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea, and Trinidad. Do you have a friend in one of these countries? Tell them to reach out to our team to create an Inside Out Action!

Group Action: The Next Generation of Leaders, Lubumbashi, Congo - Kinshasa, August 2024, 196 Portraits

Our Photobooths have also traveled the world, visiting 25 countries and incredible places like London’s Tower Bridge, the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, the historic city center of Taipei, and even the great pyramids of Giza! In addition to gathering their portraits, hundreds of participants have recorded their voices and shared their stories to raise awareness on issues that matter most to their communities such as climate change, gender equality, collective memory, inclusion, diversity, and more.

Group Action: What is the Truth?, Melbourne, Australia, February 2021, 294 Portraits

The Inside Out Project is a program of JR’s Can Art Change the World? Foundation. Since the inception of the Foundation in 2009, we have been bringing continuity to JR’s projects by creating autonomous spaces and programs where participants can create, connect, and learn together. Today, the nonprofit supports three main programs, Casa Amarela Providencia, the Inside Out Project, and our new Global Prison Art Program— funding and creating educational and artistic programs that nurture personal growth, promote community healing, and incite social change through art.

Thank you to everyone who has brought Inside Out to life and connected their community with the world, one portrait at a time!