Art in prison - is it worth it?

From what we hear in the media, art in the criminal justice system is just a waste of time, space and the tax-payers' money. I'll put my hand up now - I'm guilty of thinking this (as are many other people in today's world) but we couldn't be more wrong. I'm a big fan of the arts - always have been - but for some reason I could never get my head round how doing something creative would help people in prisons.

The chairman of Arts Alliance (the company that brings art workshops to offenders) spoke passionately, pointing out that when any of us goes through a strong emotion, be it love, loss or hurt, we use creativity as an outlet for the feelings. It's therapeutic and helps us to vent the emotion without hurting anyone else.

When its put like that, arts in prisons seems like a very good idea. He went on to explain how re-offending rates are significantly reduced when the offender is involved in a creative project and how much people benefit from being involved in such work.

The talk definitely opened my eyes to a whole new world of career possibilities too. Although most of the speakers said how hard the job is to get into, they all seemed so enthused and excited about the work they were doing, it made the effort they had to put in seem completely worthwhile.

My views on the prison system were completely changed by this talk. It's so easy to get caught up in the world of the media and put down anything that uses tax-payers' money as a waste of time, but this really isn't. If you think how small the arts' side of education is in prisons (estimated at less that 5%) it's not worth all the aggravation the people that run the company get from the public. We're always led to think that an offender is a stereotype and can forget that they're real people. Everyone deserves the opportunity to express themselves, and I can't stress enough how glad I am that there are organisations out there that are fighting to give people that chance.

Sophie Moyse

Not so twisted

Iexpected the twisted art of serial killer John Wayne Gacy or the beauty of a back piece done with a sharpened bed spring. I was pleasantly surprised when a member of the Arts Alliance simply said that prisoners are humans too.

I was further surprised at how vocational the programs were for the Arts Alliance. I did not know that prisoners must fulfil specific educational requirements to take part in the program, nor that they must demonstrate that they are developing within their work.

By the end of the one hour session my scepticism was turned to optimism as I realised that the Art Alliance was a serious organisation for prisoners who seriously want to rehabilitate through hours of work (more than 20 a week) and who show consistent dedication.

John Marr

Mending social connections

It's Cultural eXchanges week at University. I headed to a talk on the use of arts in prisons. It was hosted by Arts Alliance, for whom art doesn't just mean painting, but drama, dance, music and writing as forms of art too. They believe that if crime is a broken social connection, and art is a largely social thing, the arts can help to rebuild that connection.

Many people believe that prisons are too luxurious for convicted criminals, to which Arts Alliance respond it's "not just a holiday camp". They explained that in every prison, education is contracted from outside the prison to teach the offenders. They then explained that classes in the arts probably take up less than 5% of the courses on offer, which they think is not enough at all.

Why are they so persistent about the need for classes in the arts? Because it has been proven that not only does it save public money on other forms of rehabilitation, but it also reduces the likelihood of a prisoner re-offending. Arts Alliance helps by training people to continue giving support to prisoners after their release.

There are also groups such as the Shannon Trust which work within prisons, encouraging more-able prisoners to mentor the less-able prisoners, in reading and writing etc. This can help prisoners who need to reach level 1 in Mathematics and Literacy before taking Arts classes. This is largely so that they can pick out those who will most likely excel on the course. (This may seem unfair but it was also made clear that exceptions are made for prisoners without level 1 in mathematics and literacy if they show show a great deal of enthusiasm and passion for art.) Arts Alliance insist that these classes not only teach a form of art, but also how to express ideas, responding to feedback, and working in a team, all vital skills.

My vote? The arts should be taught in prisons, because surely, if an offender has an interest in one of the arts, it would be easier to rehabilitate them and reduce the risk of re-offending.

Sarah Kate Beckett

Not just a break-time game

admit, my first thoughts when hearing the words 'art' and 'prison' put together weren't all that constructive: more something along the lines of 'they're there to be punished, not to paint pretty pictures,' but Art Alliance (the national body for the promotion of arts in the criminal justice system) proved otherwise.

Prisoners can't just wonder in and out of the system, they have to have a certain level of education, they have to prove they won't drop out after a few weeks, and most importantly, they have to really want to do it. Art in prison can involve up to 6 hours a day (when taking graphic design) and involves prisoners showcasing their work and giving constructive criticism. This helps offenders to communicate better, as well as teaching them other vital skills such as team work and presentation skills.

Throughout the UK there are currently on average 93,000 prisoners, and that's costing the government £42,000 a year. Suffice to say, I came out of that discussion thinking that maybe it's time to drop the law-abiding citizen act and start prioritizing rehabilitation over hard punishment. The three speakers addressed all sorts of opposing views; 'isn't that making prison life easier?', 'why should prisoners have these unnecessary benefits?' Yeah, I was thinking that too, but Art Alliance were adamant that art in prisons isn't simply a break time game, it's a form of therapeutic rehabilitation.

Shelby Paddison

Art in Prison? Certainly

Prisoners are often presented as either wastrels or monsters in the media. But giving them the opportunity to produce their own art enables them to demonstrate that they are just as human as the rest of us.

Three speakers from the Arts Alliance were adamant that serious involvement in art, theatre, dance and creative writing provides offenders with a form of education and allows them to build up self-esteem, despite any lack of literacy and numerical skills.

They explained in detail how limiting the creativity and expression of prisoners would simply exacerbate the problem. This makes it far more likely that offenders return to prison soon after their release.

The idea of art in prison was something I’ve never considered before. This lecture certainly gave me food for thought.


S. M. Knight

Culture in captivity

At the beginning of Cultural eXchanges we'll face the difficult question: should the convicted be allowed to express themselves? Is it enough to imprision them physically or should we mentally imprison them as well ?

On Monday 28th Febuary Members of the Art Alliance will discuss whether prisoners should be allowed to speak out through art. Is it more important to provide a vocational skill with which they can use after rehabilitation or should prisoners be given, for lack of a better term a blank canvas ?



- John Marr