2013 - 2014
Freedom to Create supporting women-centred artist practice in prisons A report on Year One of a Three Year Creative Criminal Justice Programme in HMP and YOI Cornton Vale Delivered in partnership with New College Lanarkshire and Scottish Prison Service A report by Caroline Carmichael
Funded by Creative Scotland, The Robertson Trust & The VOLANT Charitable Trust through Foundation Scotland’
Artlink Central is a Registered Scottish Charity SCO 08158 www.artlinkcentral.org
Contents 1. Forward 2. Overview 3. Artlink Central’s Criminal Justice Programme 4. Background information on the women and the population at Cornton Vale 5. How we have Approached Evaluation? 6. Project outcomes and progress 7. Projects – progress and development 8. Feedback from participants, SPS and Artists
2
Forward Introducing artists into a women’s establishment for criminal justice will only deliver outcomes for offenders if they are supported effectively within a regime, through a strong framework and partnership process. In evolving Freedom to Create, Artlink Central has been able to work with two strong partners, Scottish Prison Service itself committed to ‘creating opportunities’ and New College Lanarkshire (formerly known as Motherwell College) who provide learning centre services in HMP and YOI Cornton Vale. The result in the first year is very excouraging as we have established and embedded a strong strategic partnership approach and delivered against this. Freedom to Create was envisaged as a direct result of a visit to the annual Koestler Trust Awards for Scotland in the Tramway. In that year, the work had been curated by young women from Cornton Vale, yet at the exhibition, only one piece of art by a female offender could be found out of hundreds of submissions. The question it posed was twofold. Firstly, what were the barriers for women offenders in developing their creativity and how could we overcome these? And secondly, can the arts evolve a creative approach to addressing the lack of women-centredness identified within the highly influential Angolini Report. On this basis, Artlink Central worked over a significant development period securing support from Creative Scotland, The Robertson Trust and the Volant Trust through Foundation Scotland. I am delighted to present this first annual evaluation report from our three year programme, Freedom to Create, to share our learning and the impact we have made by supporting a small team of artists to evolve a womencentred creative practice across the Cornton Vale estate.
Kevin Harrison Director of Artlink Central
3
Overview The “Freedom to Create” programme specifically aims to meet the needs of women offenders, both in terms of identifying and addressing barriers that may or may not be gendered physical, social or emotional barriers to participating in and engaging with cultural opportunity, but also which use creative approaches to exploring and addressing the wider context of the gendered nature of criminal justice establishments in a positive and co-productive way. Freedom to Create is an Artlink Central project funded by Creative Scotland, Robertson Trust, and Volant Trust through Foundation for Scotland, delivered in partnership with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and New Lanarkshire College (NCLAN) through the Criminal Justice Third Sector Framework for Partnership. Although planning, strategic and partnership development began earlier, Freedom to Create projects didn’t begin delivery until October 2013 and the projects are still evolving; learning to meet the needs of the women and SPS outcomes. The aims of the first projects were to allow the artist to get to know the prison, staff, facilities and the women and to develop relationships with both the women and with officers who enabled the artist to develop meaningful projects. Data is still being gathered and analysed and it is not possible at this interim stage to measure the full impact of the various different projects on participants. However feedback from participants and partners has been positive. This report aims to highlight the positive progress that has been made to date, challenges and changes, and developments for the future. Freedom to Create is a women-centred programme of high quality arts initiatives that aim, through strong partnerships, to support the wider SPS objective of encouraging desistance from crime and supporting Scottsh Government-led Offender Outcomes. Acknowledgements Artlink Central received significant support from both SPS and NCLAN staff, and would like to thank Carol Ann Murray (SPS) and Lorna Callery (Education) for supporting the Artists in the introductory phase of the work, providing support and guidance for development, and latterly Kaye Clark (Education) and Joyce Curry (SPS) , who have recently joined the Freedom to Create team, in their new roles of Eduation Manager and Programmes and Addictions Manager respectively. Their support has allowed work to evolve in a meaningful way. Thanks also to Lillian Dougan (SPS) and Kirsten Sams (NCLAN) for strategic support and all staff who have made projects come to life across work parties, residential blocks and on open days. 4
5
Artlink Central’s Criminal Justice Programme About Artlink Central Artlink Central is an arts agency working across Central Scotland, engaging artists in communities. Established in 1988 Artlink Central is a registered charity based in Stirling, with a focus on developing evidence-based practice in the following areas: - Arts and Health - Arts and Disability - Arts in Prisons and - Arts and Young People. Partnership Approach The organisation works both within institutions and in community-based settings, delivering across art forms and working closely with artists, statutory and voluntary sector agencies and with people accessing artistic programmes. Artlink Central work geographically across Central Scotland and beyond. Most of our work takes place within Forth Valley Area. We work in partnership with NHS Forth Valley, Scottish Prison Service, Stirling Council, Falkirk Council and Clackmannanshire Council and a number of Third Sector, Further and Higher Education Partners.
6
Programme Artlink Central has extensive experience of delivering cultural opportunities to offenders and has had significant success in capturing strong evaluation of work delivered. After a strong three year programme which ended in 2010, a new range of programmes has been undertaken in 2013, as outlined below: 1. Creative Practice in Prisons Evolving new programmes which support women centred practice by artists in prisons, focussing initially on HMP Cornton Vale. 2. Forthways This is a new Creative Public Service design programme, exploring how referral pathways can support offenders in prisons and living in the community, to access creative opportunities which support them to reduce chances of reoffending. 3. Scottish Prison Arts Network Supporting this new organisation as a partner and playing a strong strategic and practical role in establishing and growing this emerging network, to raise the profile and quality of arts practice / delivery in criminal justice in Scotland.
7
About Cornton Vale Cornton Vale is the primary establishment in Scotland for holding female offenders on remand and those sentenced to prison by the courts. Cornton Vale provides custodial facilities for female prisoners (including young offenders) in all sentence ranges and supervision levels. It has a design capacity of 309 places, this figures includes 24 spaces within the independent living units (ILUs) adjacent to the prison grounds for appropriate women nearing the end of their sentence, and seven mother and baby spaces available inside the prison. In total, the prison has six accommodation blocks. Whilst Cornton Vale is Scotland’s only all-female prison, women are also held in other facilities. There are currently around 110 women in HMP Edinburgh and 53 women housed in Greenock Prison’s Darroch Hall. In addition there is a small community integration unit for women at HMP Inverness and HMP Aberdeen. Both the Angiolini Report published in April 2012 and the Corston report published in March 2007 highlight the distinct differences between Male and Female offenders and the need for a women-centred approach to rehabilitation.
8
Evaluation Process The evaluation process has been informed by, and is a continuation of, Artlink Central’s previous work in Cornton Vale. It now also incorporates the SPS Third Sector Partnership Framework with Scottish Government Offender Outcomes embedded. A freelance evaluator is contracted to oversee the evaluation process and report on outcomes. Creative Scotland have also commissioned BOP consultancy to complete an evaluation of Arts in Prisons. Artlink Central’s work has been identified as a positive example of provision in the BOP report. A project-specific evaluation, in the form of this report, has been carried out by an independent evaluator. Aims of the evaluator • Establish a planning monitoring and evaluation process for all practitioners, integrated into practice with a clear focus on outcomes. • Embed Offender Outcomes within artist planning • Provide evaluation support to artists • Produce a framework and supporting documents to consolidate the evaluation process • Establish a system to gather data from three sources, in order triangulate data and produce and much more accurate evaluation to be used for future planning. 9
Evaluation Processes
10
•
Artists took part in a development afternoon before planning their programmes and were provided with a planning, monitoring, evaluation framework (based on Third Sector Partnership Framework), advice for keeping diaries and a discussion on being creative in their approach. Offender Outcomes were discussed and artists were sent examples of other evaluations of arts delivery in prison for information.
•
Artists were asked to complete a questionnaire about their approach as an artist working with women in a prison setting and to highlight any concerns they had about evaluation
•
Pre and post programme questionnaire were designed for participants
•
Development Consultant, Jennifer Hill and SPS designed a questionnaire for SPS staff and a referral system
•
A register of participants was initially kept by the learning centre. This will continue but artists will also keep their own register to speed up the process of data gathering.
•
A development day has been planned for June 2014 specifically looking at artist practice and evaluation.
Areas for Improvement in Evaluation Although artists fed back on the progress of projects through the monitoring and evaluation form, diaries and or interviews, a more robust chasing system to ensure all components of the evaluation is being established, particularly around pre and post programme surveys. Some changes need to be made to surveys to make them more user friendly and other more creative evaluation methods should be encouraged and explored. For some groups (particularly in Ross House, the unit providing support where women have significant mental health problems) there were issues around literacy. As SPS staff have extreme demands on their time, it is planned to interview staff a couple of times a year. However they can also comment through feedback forms. Personal Liaison Officer forms have been sent to key officers who have referred women or been involved in projects, or know the women well. A small number have been completed and it would seem some officers are unsure of their purpose, so some guidance may be necessary. Informal feedback has also been gained through the projects, the network and meetings with artists. The evaluator also attended most projects and had the opportunity to chat to the women and hear their views during the sessions. 11
Outcome One Stronger partnership working & co-production in programme development Artlink Central is able to develop programmes that not only support and enable women offenders to evolve them, but which also engage all key stakeholders in the process to embed the programme within the prison hosting it and to build on the strengths and opportunities each stakeholder brings to the programme to strengthen outcomes and the impact it has and to support strong communication. This extends to creating a wider strategic network of relationships that support the programme to evolve and grow as it extends to new establishments and as future partnership and development opportunities arise 1.
2.
3.
12
Create a strong strategic plan for developing strong relationships across the criminal justice sector Appoint a development consultant to lead on the network and programme development from the outset, with the remit to evolve a clear and well researched development plan to embed the learning from the programme and with the aim of ensuring sustainability and legacy.
Jennifer Hill was appointed as Development consultant in 2013.
Strong and clear management and communication structure Complete the Third Sector Criminal Justice Framework process and implement it fully through the programme. Establish a programme structure which includes effective partner engagement through named members forming a project management group, a biannual or quarterly steering group and connections to other cross working groups that are relevant to the programme.
A project steering group has been established and meetings about ongoing development have taken place
Co-production through participation Build in co-production approaches and offender involvement in recruitment and programme development processes
The first set of discussions about the development of co-production and co-design have taken place with the management team. Particularly around definitions to bring the team together. Element of co-production are beginning to be also developed in Artist Programmes as the women get to know the artist and develop relationships. (please see Drama 5.4, Visual Arts 5.7 and Garden Project 5.8) There remains an identified need to discreetly evolve a co-production approach to programming which require additional resources. Additional resources for the development of co-production pilots are currently being sought through Investing in Ideas (Big Lottery)
Jennifer Hill has developed a communication strategy for the project and is developing a business plan.
Jennifer plans to set four dates for steering group meeting for 2014/2015 The Third Sector Framework has been redeveloped by SPS with a new logic model. Discussions are taking place to transfer our original submitted programme outcomes to the new model.
Outcome Two Reduced inequalities for women offenders in prisons The programme specifically aims to meet the needs of women offenders, both in terms of identifying and addressing barriers that may or may not be gendered physical, social or emotional barriers to participating in and engaging with cultural opportunity, but also which use creative approaches to exploring and addressing the wider context of the gendered nature of criminal justice establishments in a positive and co-productive way. 1.
Access audit and exploratory work of needs of women carried out Artists explore, identify and begin to address barriers to participation that may or may not be gendered or gender specific through initial consultation and creative engagement. This will include exploring how cultural activity itself can be gendered, as well as the social and physical environment. Artists will extend some of this exploration into working with women in other prison settings. A strong evaluation practice will be embedded from the outset and will use the audit to create benchmarks where possible for measuring the success of the programme.
Sept 2013- Two introductory projects were planned for October and November 2013 to allow the artist to build relationships (with offenders, education staff and SPS staff), and explore the best way to develop artistic and cultural opportunities for women offenders at Cornton Vale tailored to the women and to support SPS offender outcomes. Barriers to accessing could also be identified and solutions explored. Artists were asked to keep diaries or submit planning/ monitoring and evaluation forms based on Third Sector Framework. Offender outcomes were considered throughout this process. Pre and post programme questionnaire were completed by participants alongside artists’ views and comments. Communication, planning and development with SPS and Education were ongoing. Findings were used to plan future programmes or to adapt existing ones and in one case postpone a programme to meet the needs of the women in the prison.
2.
Equalities focussed programme developed Artists evolve specific programmes to meet the needs of women offenders. This could be about creating more opportunities for women to create work that encourages family contact, or about exploring art forms that may have gendered associations or ones which women may traditionally not access. It may extend to particular issues relevant to women offenders such as domestic violence, bereavement or substance misuse. In addition to an overall outcome around women in general and groups of women with specific barriers, we will have a person-centred outcome approach so that we are not over generalising and so that the programme evolves around individuals, recognising where women may also have multiple barriers due to disability, age, health,orientation, race, religion and others.
The artists have taken the learning from the introductory programmes to develop other projects with the support of SPS staff and feedback from the women. More work is now taking place in the blocks and in the gardens with work parties who don’t always have access to projects. Specific issue focussed work is being discussed such as a proposal to develop a programme specifically looking at Mental Health. All the work undertaken by the artists has been personcentred and inclusive. Artists have worked with a broad range of women including women with mental health issues and or disabilities. Working in small groups allowed one-to-one support when required.
13
Outcome Three Creative Practice evolving, embedded and valued within criminal justice Artlink Central will develop a peer learning network of artists that will support and nurture practice development with the aim of establishing a strong base of knowledge, learning and a framework for quality social practice in a criminal justice context of working with women. The artists will be tasked with their own learning, sharing practice with each other and with other stakeholders such as the women themselves, prison, healthcare and learning centre staff. Artlink Central will also share practice via the Scottish Prison Arts Network and Artworks Scotland. Where possible there will be connections with other relevant projects such as the new placement scheme for Glasgow School of Art students.
14
1
Artists as Peer Learning Network Artists will be contracted to deliver programmes that support practice development and will be expected to share their learning through a range of informal and formal mechanisms
Five artists have been employed. Artists have shared their work with others through the open day, exhibition within the learning centre, peer support (SPAN event) and a development day organised by Jennifer Hill.
2
Artist Practice to be Outcomes Focussed Artists will be expected to take an outcomes based approach to all the work they do and programme proposals will have artistic and offender outcomes embedded within their scope.
Artist have engaged in planning, monitoring and evaluation (with Offender Outcomes embedded) with support from evaluator
3
Dissemination of Learning Artlink Central will disseminate practice to the wider arts and criminal justice community through a range of mechanisms and partnerships including STIR, SPAN and Artworks Scotland, where possible and relevant.
Presentation by Lorna Callery at Scottish Prison Arts Network event in Nov 2013 Article for Criminal Justice matters- Making women visible: Creative practice within prisons (L. Callery and K. Harrison March 2014):http://scottishjusticematters.com/wp-content/ uploads/SJM_2_1_CreativePracticeWithinPrisonsLo-Res1. pdf
Outcome Four Increased participation in creative opportunities by women offenders Artlink Central will deliver a participatory creative arts programme to women offenders predominantly with HMP Cornton Vale with gradual extension to women who have now been moved to other prison settings. The programme will be delivered in partnership with Motherwell College and Scottish Prison Service Staff across blocks and in the learning centre. The programme will be designed in consultation with women offenders and will reach different groups of vulnerable women, increasing their access to arts and learning opportunities and supporting improvement in wellbeing. The programme will investigate gender specific issues within criminal justice as well as exploring the relationship between different art forms and gender in this context to increase and widen women’s engagement, participation in and outputs possible from creative practice with women offenders.
1
Increase Participation Artlink Central will deliver a programme of creative opportunity to a minimum of 100 women in year one, delivered by professional artists in prisons, predominantly HMP Cornton Vale.
139 individual participants took part in Artlink Central projects between October 2013 and March 2014
2
Reduce Barriers to Participation Artlink Central will meet access requirements of target groups and report on improvement in access to learning and wellbeing for these groups, as well as set specific areas of investigation.
Embedded in artist practice and project development, evidenced in programme changes in response to feedback from women and staff.
3
Embed Creativity Artlink Central will develop participatory programmes with artists and women offenders that create meaningful dialogue and learning about the role creativity can play in women offenders’ lives and in criminal justice provision for women.
Embedded in artist practice and project development. All artists have evolved their programmes in response to dialogue with staff and participants. One artist withdrew from the programme as it became evident that practice differed from what was required.
15
Freedom to Create Programme Progress and development The aims of the first projects were to allow the artists to get to know the prison, staff, facilities and the women and develop relationships with both the women and officers that enabled the artists to develop meaningful projects. Artists began work in HMP YOI Cornton Vale in October 2013. The artists’ aims for their first projects were • • • • • • •
To get to know the women To engage with them To become familiar with the environment, the system, procedures etc. To get to know the staff To establish a presence To find out participants’ interests to support future development To possibly take ideas that come up during debut projects and develop them for the future.
The work naturally split into two disciplines, Visual Arts and Performance Arts. Each discipline developed work in different ways and adapted to the needs of the women participating. As time went by and artist knowledge of the prison and the women grew, new work that was specifically designed to meet the needs of the women and SPS outcomes developed. Details of how can be found in the following section.
16
Visual Arts
Catherine Sargeant and Frances Douglas
The Thing About Paper
Visual arts Project based in Education October/November 2014 The artists planned to run the programme for eight weeks on a Wednesday at the learning centre, comprising of a morning group and an afternoon group. A total of 33 women engaged in at least once with the project over 8 weeks. 10 women committed 3 or more sessions with 3 women taking part for 7 sessions. The programme began with introducing simple techniques such as hot dog books and expanded over the weeks introducing more varied and complex techniques encouraging participants to experiment. The group marbled paper that was to be shared and used to make concertina books. The paper was used as both a cover and to cut out shapes to decorate. Simple sewn books and other more complex techniques were also introduced. As was expected, there have been many challenges and the artists have been flexible in their approach to dealing with this. Due to the nature of prison life it is difficult to know which participants will be on the programme from week to week with offenders having to attend appointments and on some occasions being moved to other prisons. The artists were flexible in their planning and adapted their programme to allow participants who had attended from the beginning room to progress and develop their skills and ideas, however for the woman who had only attended a couple of sessions or began midway, there was an opportunity to make a finished product and learn new skills.
17
Christmas Card Printing
Printmaking across two residential units December 2013 This was a follow on project from the first visual arts programme “The Thing About Paper� and took place in the blocks rather than the Learning Centre. During these workshops the women will learned how make a styrofoam print with a Christmas theme and were able to print these onto cards. 25 women in two blocks participated.. Everyone who attended created a hand-printed card, some making up to six different versions of the design. Cards were made for family, friends and in some cases Prison Officers.
18
Visual Arts and Signage
Sited Artwork for Family Hub and Ross House January/February 2014 This project followed on from the previous visual arts programmes and used much of that learning to inform the planning. The aim was to create signage for the Family Hub to enhance the environment for their visitor. The artists also used this opportunity to investigate if working in the block would allow more women to participate and encourage them to take part in more education. Feedback from the artists would suggest mixed results. In Peebles, as this project was run during the day, most women should have been at education or work parties so there were some questions whether or not they should attend another programme if they have failed to turn up to education or work. The work in Peebles was cut short as the artists were asked to work with the garden work party (a project which had been discussed previously with the artists.) The artists felt some short taster session may be appropriate in the blocks such as Peebles to encourage women to attend the learning centre. However this was not the case for Ross house. The artists felt that a drop-in group specifically looking at arts and mental health would be both appropriate and beneficial to the women in this block. The women in Ross House said that they would like to use the signage they created to enhance the environment in the block and some did not want to participate if the work was taken out of the prison. A mural project is being planned to enhance the environment in Ross house. The aim would be for the women to make decisions about creating something to enhance their surroundings. The artists feel that, to make this project a success, it would be ideal to have a key member of SPS involved to discuss ideas, limitations and possibilities and to be involved in the process. This might mean checking in on the project from time to time, and being a contact for the artists.
19
The Garden Project
Sited Artwork and upcycling in the Garden Work Party Winter/Spring 2014 The artists planned to create decorative plant labels and to decorate planters. They also planned to develop a project using recycled objects, encouraging the women to take more of a lead in its development. SPS officers who oversee the garden party have been very involved in the development of the project. This has been seen as very positive by the artists. The artists highlighted that this is an organised group so in some way it was not voluntary participation for the first session, however after the introductory session women had a choice in taking part in the project or to do the other gardening duties are other activities within the garden work party that they can participate in such as planting. The artists, officers and women planned the project together. The artist provided images of several options and a programme of creative work was developed. The group chose to create garden labels for plants, enhance bird boxes and planters that they had made from recycled pallets with stencils designed and created by the women and to create a series of garden mosaics using recycle bottle tops. This work is currently displayed in the gardens next to the learning centre. The artists highlighted that working in partnership with SPS officers was hugely beneficial to the smooth running of the project. The women who completed post programme evaluation forms all answered yes when asked if prison officer involvement had a positive impact on the project. Another project with the garden work party is planned for Autumn/Winter 2014.
20
Performance Art Jeremy Weller
Drama and Dance across the establishment Jeremy Weller and Rhiana Laws October/November 2013
A dance artist and drama artist decided to combine their disciplines and deliver taster days followed by a three week intensive programme with a planned performance. Although the taster sessions were reasonably successful and the feedback from the participants was very positive, the 3 week intensive programme did not take place due to a lack of numbers. It was felt that there were a number of reasons for this. • The work clashed with another project taking place in the prison • The women didn’t feel this project, in its current form, was for them • The artists also felt that the disciplines didn’t naturally come together in this context and for this group of individuals A number of discussions were had with the women and SPS staff and new programmes were designed, a Night Time Drama project was delivered in one of blocks and the dance project postponed.
freedom to create an
artlink central programme for women
supported by Creative Scotland, The Robertson Trust & the Volant Trust with Foundation Scotland in partnership with Motherwell College and the Scottish Prison Service Artlink Central is a Registerd Scottish Charity No. SC0 08158 website: www.artlinkcentral.org Telephone: 01786 450971
complete your details on the sign-up sheet provided
MONDAY 7th October - full day
sign up now EXPLORING
dance theatre
final taster day for a drama and dance project a programme for women who want to explore and create a new contemporary dance and theatre piece over three weeks - requires three week commitment From Monday 4th November -14th October & 18th - 25 November (Mon - Thurs all day / Friday AM) Venues: St Margaret’s Centre and Gym
Subsequently the dance artist withdrew from the project, citing that she now understood that she required a second dance artist to work with her, which was not included in the original project budget and which the project was unable to resource. The artist was due to return to the project, but subsequently took up a contract with another provider in the same prison, where she worked with another dance artist. Feedback was provided by the artist that has supported future programming and she will remain in contact with the project. One clear learning point was that a model of practice applied in one prison context may not necessarily transfer successfully to another.
21
Night Theatre Jeremy Weller
Wallace Residential Unit December 2013 and ongoing Following discussions with the women after the Drama/Dance taster project the drama artist went into Wallace House and meet the women to introduce the project and develop a project based on this feedback. The artist planned a “can do” process in which achievements would be visible, and achievable. 10 women participated 2 nights a week over November and December. The artist built up a good relationship with the women. There were some challenges to begin with as a member of the group started a rumour about negative content towards SPS. This was quickly resolved and SPS officers have been very supportive and commented on the positive commitment the women have shown. It was also suggested by one of the female officers that she felt that it’s often difficult for the women to relate to men due to past experiences, but the relationship with the male artist was very positive and non-threatening. However this unfortunate incident did impact on a show not taking place in December, which frustrated the women. This project continued into the new year and, as some women have been liberated, others joined and the project evolved with the women taking more of a lead role in its development. The artist is working as a facilitator, guiding them and teaching them techniques to support their creative process. A performance created by the women and supported by the artist was performed in front of SPS staff for approval before being shown to the other women in their block. The performance for the block was well attended and feedback from participants, officers and the other women was extremely positive. It is hoped that a short film of the production may be produced, however some of the cast members are due to be liberated. The group will continue to run twice a week with one of the key women taking the lead one night and the artist on the other. The aim is, with the support of the artist, for the women to take a lead role in developing the drama group in Wallace (some of the key members are serving long sentences). The women are both excited and nervous about this but have already shown huge commitment by meeting during recreational time on three Mondays to rehearse (without the support of the artist). A number of women from the group have now been liberated and a recruitment drive by the women has taken place. Building on the work of Year One, ‘Night Drama’ engages the women of Wallace House in a weekly drama programme for devising theatre. This year the forty sessions will take place on a Friday with mentoring for a participant self-led session on Wednesdays. Aspirations include filming a play and performing it to the rest of the prison.
22
A Life in Wallace Our life in Wallace What can I say Emotional turmoil Day after day Ups and downs all arounds. Angry sad, crazy, mad Laughter and Joy. If it wasn’t for each other our tears would stream down forever Close bonds made Just like family You could say Helping each other Through each tedious day Comforting each other through each tragedy. Instead of time going backward We move time forward Time goes by. In the blink of an eye. Real Drama Real Life Real People We’re not just a number We love We have feelings Not rotten to the core Not hard faced criminals Yes each of us have hard Stories to tell. All of us have come though Our own private hell Survivors of life Starting a fresh On a positive highway Learning is best New Skills found Confidence in bounds Finding belief again in something new Something true Channelling our raw emotions into something good Oh Drama what would we do without you?
Poem by a participant of Artlink Central’s Night Theatre group 23
The Open Day Sally Booth
“The prison through my eyes”
see through drawings with Sally Booth October 2013 Artlink Central participated in the Learning Centre’s open day raising awareness about the educational opportunities available with the prison. As part of an NHS Forth Valley residency, artist Sally Booth was supported Aims • Make women aware of Artlink Central presence in the Prison. • An opportunity for the whole prison to take part in a creative project including people on work parties who don’t usually have that opportunity. Four large see-through screens were place in the gardens next to the learning centre at eye level. Sally asked the women to draw onto the screens what they saw through them and provided them with a variety of coloured pens. The first women to make marks felt nervous but as the screens filled the women felt less inhibited. It was an opportunity for Artlink Central Staff to chat with the women and let them know about projects happening within the prison but also engage women in a creative project. An exhibition of work by women who had taken part in the “The Thing About Paper” was also displayed within the learning centre. 114 women took part and drew on the screens. The women responded positively on the day and enjoyed the opportunity to try something unique.
24
Caroline Carmichael and Sally Booth test out the drawing tent
Sally Booth - Artist
25
Create and Curate
Joint project with New College Lanarkshire & University of Stirling Art Collection Create and Curate a partnership project with SPS, Stirling University, New College Lanarkshire and Artlink Central funded by Education Scotland and in-kind by key partners. Create and Curate was an Arts and Writing project developed between Lorna Callery from New College Lanarkshire and the University of Stirling Art Collection, which Artlink Central joined to support with poet Evlynn Sharpe (Artlink Central). Evlynn contributed by working alongside the project artist Brigid Collins, originator of the Poem- House form (her work is also part of Stirling University collection) – in collaboration with the prison’s New College Lanarkshire Learning Centre. The women were supported by Sarah Bromage (Learning and Audience Development Curator, University of Stirling) to curate an exhibition of work by female artists from the Stirling University collection on loan for six months. The women created writing about this work. The project developed with them creating more personal poems and Poem-Houses. Their work was exhibited in the learning centre alongside the chosen work from the University collection to celebrate International Women’s day.
Curate and Curate project team courtesy of SPS 26
The exhibition later moves to Stirling University where is will be viewed by the public and academics. Stirling University published a book of the artwork and poetry and is available on request. Create and Curate: Art and Writing by women in HMP YOI Cornton Vale. (2014) University of Stirling with New College Lanarkshire, HMP YOI Cornton Vale. Seven women took part in this project (four of these women also participated in other Artlink Central projects) in February and March 2014 within the learning centre. The feedback from the women was very positive. Other women who had not participated were also very moved by the exhibition with some asking if they could have their own copy of the published work. Artlink Central’s artist expressed that she felt the success was partly due to the fantastic partnership led by New College Lanarkshire, and the enormous goodwill that was shared. It was a positive environment for the women to come into where they felt valued. Roles and responsibilities were clearly defined for both those delivering the project and participants. The project facilitated the women’s creativity whilst also providing technical advice and guidance to support their creativity. For Artlink Central it was our first opportunity to collaborate directly with other partners.
27
Participation and attendances Due to the nature of prison life, attendances varied from time to time for different projects. Artists never knew how many people would turn up for sessions as sometimes women didn’t attend because of appointments, visits, court attendance, being confined to their cell, medical or other reasons and were often liberated before a course came to an end.
Below is a breakdown of 139 women who took part in projects and how many took part in more than 3 sessions of a programme. It is important to note that the Christmas card project was just one day and the signage project at Peebles only ran for 2 weeks as the artists were asked to start the work with the garden work party.
28
Below is a breakdown of women who participated in more than one Artlink Central project
Feedback from participants, partners, Scottish Prison Service and artists “Freedom to Create� began in October 2013 and the projects are still evolving to meet the needs of the women and SPS outcomes. As the programme is still developing it is difficult to measure the full impact of the work, however feedback from partners and participants has been very positive and new work is evolving and developing based on what has been learned in year one. SPS Offender Outcomes are embedded in planning. The Nine Offender Outcomes The following Offender Outcomes identify areas in which access to arts and culture in prison is considered to have the most impact. It is also important to note that no one intervention works in isolation. It is through careful planning and quality partnership programmes that support effective outcomes. Outcome 1 - Sustained or improved physical and mental well-being Outcome 3 - Reduced or stabilised substance misuse Outcome 6 - Maintained or improved relationships with families, peers and community Outcome 9 - Improvements in the attitudes or behaviour which lead to offending and greater acceptance of responsibility in managing their own behaviour and understanding of the impact of their offending on victims and on their own families 29
Participant Feedback Women were asked to complete pre and post programme questionnaires for different projects. This didn’t happen for every project, however feedback from participants was also collected by artists and the evaluator. 49 pre-project questionnaires and 23 post-project questionnaires were completed. 49 pre-programme questionnaires
30
23 post-programme questionnaires Some reasons for the smaller sample are; some programmes are ongoing and data will be gathered in due course; women have been liberated or women have fedback verbally; and in some cases due to literacy and mental health issues this type of evaluation method was not appropriate to these individuals.
31
32
Scottish Prison Staff Feedback Personal Officers and other key SPS staff were also asked to complete Personal Officer Liaison forms for individual women to identify key objectives they think should be achieved. Ten personal liaison forms have been returned with pre-programme objectives. The following objectives were listed by SPS staff • Relax • Have fun • Learn new skills • Use art as an outlet for anxiety • Socialise • Improve ability to participate in group work • Improve her ability to express herself • Learn more about art • Help show her feelings. • Social skills • Self esteem • Confidence • Progress to a learning environment Part of the form contained a post project question, asking officers if they saw improvements or if the key objectives were met. To date only 3 have completed this part of the form (as mentioned earlier, there may have been some confusion about purpose of this form so some guidance will be issued). However officers who completed this part of the form felt that most objectives were achieved and for one participant there was a huge improvement in all areas, with Artlink Central projects having a significant impact. The officers involved in the garden project also completed and shared their own short report in which they stated “This project has been a success for all involved. We have learned a lot about the individuals taking part in this Artlink project and we have tried to encourage the females to use their imagination and be confident. The gardeners completed all the work in 6 sessions and we propose to start another venture with Artlink in autumn/winter this year.” An officer in Wallace commented how impressed he is about the attendances at the evening drama classes and suggested that although there is a lot going on it can be difficult to motivate the women to participate. A senior member of staff who attended a preview drama performance before it was shown to whole block commented on how the content made him think about how the women felt about things and especially about the things they are nervous about when they leave prison, like using real money again and the price of a bus ticket. He hadn’t thought about that before and realised these were things that he took for granted. He congratulated the women on their bravery to perform in front of people saying that he feels nervous when he has to present to people and that it took a lot of confidence. He also said because the content was about their experiences and worries that the other women in Wallace were likely to relate to the performance.
33
Freedom to Create
Year One Report
Impact Statements by Participants The participants of the Freedom to Create programme at times were surprised by what they could achieve. The following is a small sample of some of the feedback from the women about their experiences of Artlink Central programmes:
‘I love this, this is amazing, I never knew you could do these things with paper’ - a younger participant “I will definitely try this with the kids” “I feel better since I attended these classes, knowing I can act, I can be confident and do it....That’s a great success for me” “My confidence is through the roof, I wouldn’t have been able to do that in front of a prison officer but not now, that’s what drama has done” – after preview performance “Drama has provided a safe place where I don’t feel like I’m being scrutinised, I feel like I’m always being watched but in drama there is a freedom to be me and not be scrutinised” “It’s an outlet” “Drama takes away the boredom” “Gives you confidence to speak in front of other people” “Release my anger and not be afraid because I am pretending so there are no consequences”
Supported by Creative Scotland, The Volant Trust funded through Foundation Scotland and The Robertson Trust
34