Art in Prison

The works in this display reflect a small part of the varied nature of arts in prisons. A relatively recent phenomenon, enabling prisoners to develop or apply their artistic skills has been shown to increase well-being and improve mental health.

Engaging with the arts is recognised as providing both a pathway for making sense of inmate life and as a healing process. Many prisons are now provid ing outlets for inmates’ diverse artistic expression, recognising the potential for self-actualisation through the arts. Such projects aim to engage inmates and ex-inmates in developing socially and culturally relevant skills, albeit in often difficult circumstances.

The works displayed in this exhibition are doubly significant, however, as these are the creations of Ind igenous people who were former inmates. As is widely acknowledged, Indigenous incarceration rates in Australia are grossly disproportionate to population rates and so raise questions about the underlying causes of these inequities. Prison services are recognising the important role arts programs can play in reconnecting Aboriginal prisoners with their culture.

As the group Justice Action * point out: “Prison art can be described as a genre that is able to go beyond the confines of an art room, taking on numerous forms including prison walls and is capable of encapsulating some of the most basic desires of the human experience. Prison art is a reflection and a representation of a culture. Even though this may be a subculture or a counter-culture, the art can be symbolic of common values, attitudes, behavioural practices and knowledge, whilst remaining connected to the theme of ‘outside’.”

By facilitating artistic expression, and creating an audience for those expressions, the experience of incarceration from an Indigenous point of view is also made possible. We are grateful to these artists for allowing us to present their works in this history of the NSW prison medical service.

The artworks by David Nolan displayed in the exhibition were on loan from the art collection of the University of Wollongong.

* Justice Action, Art in Prison report (http://www.justiceaction.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=450&Itemid=1422)