The Prison Service and the Arts: Impact and Emerging Debates

The Prison Service and the Arts: Impact and Emerging Debates Sarah Doxat-Pratt (bio) The place of the arts within prisons is a subject that receives much attention in both scholarship and in charitable activity. In recognition of the many personal and social benefits that the arts can bring to individuals and society, many arts practitioners, criminal justice workers, philanthropic funders and researchers are interested in how these benefits could apply in prisons and how to harness those benefits. Prison has long been understood to be a painful experience for those imprisoned: studies of prison life around the world over many decades have consistently shown that imprisonment constitutes a series of pains or deprivations that are difficult to endure.1 These pains are not just present while in prison, but continue to affect people after release, making it harder for ex-prisoners to live in the community. This can serve to exacerbate existing exclusionary circumstances for those involved in the criminal justice system, who are more likely than the general population to have experienced childhood trauma, difficulties in school, abuse, unemployment and homelessness.2 In this article, I aim to provide an overview of the impact of arts projects in prisons. I begin by presenting some examples of the types of artistic practice taking place in prisons, largely using examples from western Europe and the US. I then suggest a number of ways that the impact of the arts in prisons can be understood and articulated, drawing on the wealth of scholarly and evaluative literature from around the world: firstly discussing the ways that arts projects can ameliorate some of the pains of prison life, then suggesting ways that arts projects can provide opportunities for personal transformation. I end by presenting some emerging debates in the field. The arts in prisons In discussing the role of the arts in prisons, it is important to note that I am specifically focused here on the role of externally organised and participatory artistic projects. Although there is a long history of personal and grassroots End Page 40 artistic practice in prisons, these activities are not widely researched. This article, therefore, focuses on the role of arts projects in prisons–creative activities organised by external facilitators or organisations. I focus on the role of participatory arts projects, that is, projects in which prisoners join in with artistic activity (rather than instances where prisoners watch professional performances). Worldwide, there are myriad examples of such arts projects that could be drawn on, and so here I will outline common approaches to arts practice in prisons, and particularly those that are the subject of research.3 Many projects involve musical activity, such as group music-making, songwriting, instrument learning and music production. Commonly, these would involve one or more professional musicians going into prison and working with small to medium-sized groups of prisoners (perhaps between five and twenty-five) to make music together, producing original material or recreating known material with the instruments available to them. Another common art-form used in prisons is drama. Some organisations, for example Shakespeare Behind Bars in the US,4 have worked in prisons to produce existing plays with prisoners. More frequently, drama projects involve actors or writers using theatre exercises with prisoners to create new characters and storylines, to explore scenarios as a group, produce scripts, or to put together a piece of original work that could be performed to an audience. Some organisations then take this work and as well as performing within the prison produce professional versions of the plays that are performed nationally and internationally to broad audiences.5 Music and drama constitute a large proportion of prison-based arts projects. However, there are organisations and arts practitioners working with prisoners in all sorts of arts forms. As examples, Fine Cell Work provides sewing workshops in UK prisons,6 Animation Break was a storytelling and animation project run by De Rode Antraciet in Belgium,7 and the Arts in Corrections work of the Alliance for California Traditional Arts facilitates arts residencies from different cultural traditions.8 Among all arts projects, there are broad trends of practice. One common approach is to have a one-off intensive...