The art of doing time

Art is now seen as a serious form of therapy for certain types of offender

Although the primary function of prisons is containment and punishment, few would argue against investment in rehabilitation.

So how does art fit in with this?

Perhaps for the first time in their lives, men and women who may have laughed at the idea of picking up a pen or a paintbrush have discovered to their own astonishment that they have the ability to produce something worthwhile. One of the most important by-products of this is the growth in self-esteem that often follows.

This effect is sometimes reinforced by the admiration of fellow prisoners who may ask for copies of family photos to be sketched in exchange for a small fee. Such modest praise may nevertheless represent the first genuine compliment ever received by the prisoner.

'Yin and Yang' original acrylic on canvas by Devon Mendon

A form of expression

Many prisoners are inarticulate and have poor literacy skills. A new form of expression, such as painting, can result in an explosion of feeling and previously suppressed emotion.

The depiction of confused, sometimes crude images drawn from memories of a bleak childhood can be dramatic and often disturbing.

But teachers who come to know their pupils well, testify to the cathartic effect this form of emotional relief can produce.

Harnessing potential

At HM Prison and Young Offender Institute Parc, in South Wales, UK, the management understand the benefits to be gained from encouraging potential and have devised an experimental programme entitled “The Art of Living”.

Participants are encouraged to examine key elements of their personality using artistic activity. This leads to a greater understanding of inter-personal communication, individuality and “consequential thinking” – the ability to imagine what effect certain actions might have and to moderate behaviour accordingly.

The practical artistic activity is used to unlock deeper layers of consciousness. The course runs for six two-hour sessions and the operator of the prison, G4S Justice Services, is confident that, in conjunction with other programmes, it represents a ground-breaking innovation in the treatment of prisoners, especially those who are in denial about their offending.

In May this year, Parc Prison was named as one of the nine best business partners of the arts at the Arts and Business Awards Ceremony at the Wales Millennium Centre. This was in recognition of its innovative employment of two artists working with inmates at Parc. But whereas these schemes provide catalysts for wider, complex changes, there are more straightforward examples of art having proved astonishingly liberating for prisoners at an individual level.

Art Behind Bars

In Key West, Florida, US, the Monroe County Detention Centre makes its approach from a different direction. Convinced that participation in art lowers rates of recidivism, Art Behind Bars has enabled prisoners’ artwork valued at almost $100,000 to benefit a range of charitable organisations, including Aids Help Inc and the Hospice of the Florida Keys.

The project is widely acclaimed and in 2000 won the “Best Community Service Programme” award in Key West. Among the scheme’s supporters are the County Sherriff’s Office and the Florida State Division of Cultural Affairs.

Art for cash

A life-sentence prisoner in a Michigan penitentiary is producing high quality artwork for exhibition and sale. The aim is to raise money to pay the legal cost of his appeal against his conviction for murder.

Raymond Gray has served almost 30 years and has refined his skill as an artist to the point where his paintings are in demand across a wide spectrum of buyers.

But perhaps the most curious feature of prison art occurred in relation to the pictures drawn by Nelson Mandela during his 27 years on Robben Island. The sketches included a view from his prison cell and were later embellished by another prisoner to bring them up to a more presentable standard.

Following his release in 1990, Mandela agreed to sign a limited series of reproductions that were then sold in aid of his various charities. Buyers included former President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey who is said to have paid $25,000 for a set of the pictures.

Does art rehabilitate?

There is a great deal of anecdotal evidence to suggest that many individuals have moved away from criminal behaviour by discovering and persisting with their innate artistic talent.

The broader scene is better described in “The Art of Rehabilitation”, a study of offenders’ involvement in the arts commissioned in 2002 by the UK-based organisation Rethinking Crime and Punishment.

The paper recommends that all arts – painting, sculpture, creative writing, dancing, opera and theatre – should be given much greater funding in prisons and that institutional staff at all levels should be involved. It adds that sentencers and the wider public should be better informed about the positive benefits that can flow from the artistic activity of prisoners and that a more rigorous evaluation of its benefits should be undertaken.

The general outcome of the review is inconclusive beyond stating that art in prisons is undoubtedly “a good thing”.

Perhaps this last observation is the most significant. Simply measuring the rates of re-conviction of art-conscious offenders as compared to those who are not involved in creative pursuits probably misses the point.

To promote prison art for art’s sake is sufficient reason to persist with its expansion.

This page is an edited version of the article by Martin Gosling featured in the September 2008 edition of International.
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The art of doing time