Arts Access Aotearoa

Today I met with Arts Access Aotearoa, a fantastic organisation who’s aim is to make the arts available for those who it isn’t readily available for, such as prisoners, people who have learning disabilities, those from areas that don’t have ready access to arts activities etc. They are based in Wellington and have been generous enough to host me for two days here.  Richard Benge who is the Executive Director has planned a fantastic two days for me. I’m particularly lucky to be linked up with him.

One of the aims that they have is to work with the Department of Corrections and set up arts activities within communities as well as linking in with what is happening in prisons, so that when released those who want to can continue with that they have learnt when inside. I think that this is hugely important as whilst in jail there is a very strict structure and regime, when you are released that goes. Often released prisoners find it hard to get work, and some find the sudden change from having a set routine to not having one hard. Therefore, for that reason alone, I think that community arts projects like these would be fantastic, as well as providing all the positives that participation in the arts can provide.

I met with Chris Barrand who is a visual artist, works as a prison art tutor, and at Pablos Art Studio. This is an arts facility for adults with learning disabilities, where they can come in and work on art that is then exhibited in the Roar gallery, which is connected to the studio. The gallery has a big window facing onto the street, so provides the community of Wellington the opportunity to see the art that is being created. I actually had clocked this gallery without realising what it was on my way to the Arts Access offices. One artist had his work picked up by the curator Stuart Shephard and was exhibited all over the world, as part of work created by ‘Outsider’ or as they prefer ‘Self Taught’ artists.

I was then very privileged to meet with Julian Arghanga of Awa Films, who directed the documentary ‘Songs From The Inside’. Since arriving in New Zealand and people asking me what it is I am doing here, they have all mentioned this documentary, and that is not just people who work in prisons or the arts, it’s people I have met in hostels, in a bar etc. This documentary seems to have worked it’s way under the skin of New Zealand, so it was fantastic to meet the man behind it.

The project involved working in Rimutuka and Arohata prisons, Rimutuka is male and Arohata is female. They brought in professional musicians and song writers to help the prisoners write and create music. The philosophy was that everyone has something to say, and now is their opportunity to say it. The process of this was documented into a ten part series and was shown on Maori television, although, as I am increasingly learning, even though something may be celebrating or prioritizing Maori culture, it is by no means exclusive, and is there to be shared. At the end of our meeting Julian gave me the album also called Songs From The Inside, that you can buy, that has the music that the prisoners created, as well as a copy of the documentary, which was hugely generous. I’ve not had time to watch or listen to them yet, but am very excited to do so. It looks like this project will be happening again in Auckland Women’s Prison.

After our meeting with Julian, Richard took me to Arohata Women’s Prison to meet the prison manager (which I think is the New Zealand equivalent of a Governor) Anne Abraham. Anne is inspirational, instead of saying no to things; she does what she can to make things happen. The jail is very calm and a lot of projects get to happen, she was saying that she is currently on the lookout for someone to teach ballroom and someone to teach speech and drama. As mentioned above, this was one of the prisons that Songs From The Inside took place in. I did ask about how the jail managed the end of the project, that it was such a big and amazing thing to have, but what happens after it finishes. It was explained that those involved in the project still have links with the women who have been released, and that they will regularly meet with them, and then, in turn, the released prisoners will often come and visit those who are still inside and pass on news and information, so that they still feel connected. Also, as part of their culture, at the start of the process some of the prisoners would have performed a kapa haka, as a welcome, and then at the end it is performed as a farewell, and to mark the end of a project. Anne compared it to a funeral, a way of morning the end of a project and celebrating it. She then asked if I had ever seen one, which I hadn’t.  There was a group on a drugs awareness course that were graduating the next day, and therefore would be performing a kappa haka (although they were not necessarily part of the prison’s kapa haka group), so she arranged for them to perform what they were going to do tomorrow for us.

I have to say, it was slightly scary, but it was amazing. You can’t perform something like that half-baked; it was performed with confidence, pride and passion. The group who did it were not all Maori either, but it made no difference. We did ask how many of the women knew the songs that they performed before, and only a few of them did. They had been practicing for half an hour three times a week for about two months, which is really impressive. I think what is also great about the kapa haka is that the hard work that they do will pay off as you either get it right, or you don’t, and there is something cool about being part of a group that is able to speak and move as one.

Tomorrow I will be meeting with Sharon Hall who runs the Learning Connextion, which offers distance learning for prisoners, and then I will be visiting the Maori Focus Unit at Rimutaka Prison.

www.artsaccess.org.nz

The link to Songs From The Outside online… They are hoping to get the documentary on RTE in Ireland, hopefully the UK will be next…

http://www.amplifier.co.nz/release/85880/songs-from-the-inside-cd-and-dvd.html?play=85884#item85884

Me with the Arts Access Aotearoa staff, this picture was taken in front of a piece of art  painted by an inmate in Pare.

Julian Arahanga and I

Me and Chris Barrand at Pablos

Anne Abraham and I outside Arohata

Auckland Prison

Today I visited Pare, which is short for Paremoremo, which is the original name for this prison as it is the area it is in. It is now called Auckland Prison, and it has maximum and medium secure halls. There is also a hall that houses prisoners with additional support needs, and those who are mentally ill and have committed a crime.  There is a centre to rehabilitate sex offenders too.  This prison was built in the 1960’s and looks more like a Scottish prison than Spring Hill, although the maximum-security hall is based on Alcatraz.  There are roughly 650 prisoners here.  One thing that did strike me was the lack of windows. There are windows that look into the yard, but none elsewhere.

Again like Spring Hill, participation in work or education is not compulsory. This then means that a lot of the windows that are used for programmes or education are painted over as if prisoners are not at work or education, then they can hang out in the yard, and that used to cause a distraction.

I was able to observe an art class and talk to the art teacher Ellie.  She told me about the incredible work that they do. Every year for the past three years there is an exhibition of prisoners’ art in the Maori Art Centre on the outside, she used to run the organisation, as well as being an artist herself.  These exhibitions are a celebration of community, not just prisoners. The nearby secondary school has a catering unit, so the school provides food, and working on this gives the pupils credits towards qualifications. On the day of the exhibitions the pupils will act as waiters and waitresses. Last year the Prime Minister attended as well as many heavy weights in the arts and political scene, and it is documented and received well by the media.  The paintings are sold, sometimes for up to $2000 as there are a couple of really gifted artists in the prison, and the proceeds are then donated to Victim Support.

There are also exhibitions on the inside, as well as paintings and sculpture being displayed there is poetry, music and Kapa Haka groups perform. Kapa Haka was described to me as Maori Performing Arts, but you do not have to be a Maori to join one of these groups in Pare, something that is encouraged.

Apparently in the past there were several Kapa Haka groups in different wings in the prison and there would be competitions between them.

Pare is very proud of its carving group, where a handful of men will make beautiful wood carvings. The piece that they are currently working on is a commission from Auckland Council; they are making wooden benches to go along a waterfront. The one that they are currently working on is in the memory of a five-year-old girl who died of cancer.  She loved the story of Cinderella, so the back of the bench is carved like a pumpkin and the legs are like horses.  I was able to see drawings of what they plan to make, and it looks amazing. They have special timber imported in from Tonga to make this, and while working on this women are not allowed in the room. It must be covered at all times when it is not being worked on. When they received the wood they had to say a special blessing and the men are not allowed to swear over the wood either.  This is not normal practice for the carving group; it is the first time that they have used wood that demands such rituals.

This is all done by men who are in medium secure halls. Those who are in maximum security have two hours where they are unlocked, some who are very high risk are only allowed out for one hour.  Some in maximum security are allowed access to foundation skills, i.e. literacy and numeracy, and some can apply to do distance learning, but that is it. One of the tutors said that she wouldn’t be keen to work in the maximum-security unit as she felt it was no place for a woman.

I found this to be strange; as the attitude that I had picked up from Spring Hill (although I must stress that Spring Hill does not have a maximum security unit) was that it is better for everyone if a prisoner is active and engaged. Some one else commented that you want to tire prisoners out.  The education options for the medium secure prisoners are fantastic, they can work towards credits that get banked and go towards getting qualifications, which are the same ones that young people in New Zealand work towards at school.  However the maximum-security prisoners don’t get the same access to this.  The New Zealand government are giving a lot of money towards generating arts activities in prison, this has been really pushed over the past three years, as they believe in the good that it can do, and believe that it can aid rehabilitation.  Surely those who are in a maximum-security unit would benefit the most from rehabilitative projects?   Especially if the alternative is sitting in a cell for 22 hours a day.  This is one of the biggest differences between New Zealand and Scotland for me so far.

Gang culture is a bigger problem here, than at home too. On the signs outside the prison that lists banned things for visitors to bring in such as drugs, alcohol, mobile phones, you also cannot bring in anything associated with gangs.  The gangs here are unlike the ones in Scotland and seem to be more like American ones; there are New Zealand versions of the Bloods and the Crips. There are several others and many of the prisoners have gang tattoos, on their faces. I met a man who had a bulldog face on both cheeks and both his hands.  In Scotland you might want to keep it quiet to others that you are in a gang, otherwise you attract police attention; here people literally have it tattooed on their foreheads.

The prisoner that I was talking says that he has now left the gang and is hopeful that the prison will arrange for him to get his tattoos lasered off. This is something that they have started to do.  As I mentioned yesterday, in some cultures children are uprooted quite a lot and go and live with various different family members.  When I worked with gang members in London, many said that being part of a gang was like being in a family, the older boys looked after the younger ones, some even went to their schools if needed pretending to be their Dads.  Perhaps, this is a reason why gang culture is so prevalent here, as people may feel that they don’t have a stable family life, but they have support in their gang, and that is why they are so loyal to them.

My next visit is to Arts Access is Wellington, who are an arts organisation who have lead several projects in the prisons around the country…

Some things don't change...

Today I am off to Pare (pronounced Perry) which is Auckland Prison. It is a maximum security jail, the prison here that is most like Shotts... My old work uniform of jeans, flat boots and long tops is back on... As much as I do miss prison work, I do enjoy being able to wear dresses.

Spring Hill Corrections Facility

Unfortunately I can’t take photos as it is illegal to take photos of a prison site, but I have copied the internet address of this prison at the bottom of this entry…

Today Olivia McCarthy who is the Volunteer Coordinator for two of the prisons in the Northern region took me to Spring Hill Corrections Facility. This prison was built six years ago, and was one of four jails in the country that have built in a similar way. It is a big jail, with 1100 beds; all the cells have bunks (apart from segregation I think.... And I use segregation in the Scottish sense of the word; in New Zealand it would mean protection.)

There are quite a lot of differences between Spring Hill and a Scottish prison, I was very fortunate to be shown around the prison by an officer called Gerry who is a Scottish ex pat, who used to work at Barlinnie. It was fantastic to hear his perspective on the differences between Scotland and New Zealand.

My first observation was that the jail was lovely. The buildings looked great, and it was clean. No graffiti. The staff do keep on top of that and clean it off, but in Scottish prisons there are things carved into tables etc., and this wasn’t the case here. Also, all New Zealand prisons have this year become non-smoking prisons. Prisoners can’t buy tobacco and nobody was smoking. This wasn’t a sudden change, there was about a year lead up to it, and some of the guards decided to quit alongside the prisoners.

The prisoners are in pods; their cells open into an open courtyard, where some were playing basketball when we came in. There is an office for prison officers near the entrance to the pod, and there is a TV room and dining room. The pod that we were in was a low security one, so the prisoners were all unlocked and outside. Despite that it is winter in New Zealand, it is still warm, so it is nice being outside. I was surprised to see prisoners talking to the officers up at the windows of the office. There were quite a few of them having a chat. Gerry pointed out that due to the way this prison is built, the officers do have to interact with the prisoners more than they do in Scotland, which he believes is a positive thing.

Spring Hill is the only prison in New Zealand that has a special Pacific programme for Islanders, and there is a Fale in the grounds of the jail. This is a meeting house that has been built in the traditional style (apart from that it has walls as New Zealand is colder than places like Tonga and Samoa) and they use this building for family integration and cultural activities. Apparently there is always something happening in the Fale every night. All the artwork in the pod and in the Fale is by the prisoners.  There were decoration leaves that had been woven together out of a wicker-like material. This is a traditional craft, but while the men do this, it is also an opportunity to come together and talk. This is one of the ways that they use the arts to rehabilitate.  The arts are very popular, especially those that are related to their culture, and there are many cultures represented in New Zealand prisons, the main two would be Maori and Islander. We saw a prisoner go to a parole hearing and he was wearing a lavalava which is like a wrap. He was wearing a black one, which is formal. Within Spring Hill prisoners have formed bands, usually embracing their heritage and playing songs from their culture, as well as using the performing arts to celebrate holidays and customs etc.

Unlike in Scotland a college doesn’t bid for the contract to provide education, that would be done by Correctional Facility staff, who are not prison officers, but who are employed by the department. This is the largest government department in the country. Literacy and Numeracy and basic IT are more compulsory, and would sit alongside programmes such as Violence Prevention or the Sex Offender Training Programme. Prisoners might need to achieve a certain level in literacy or numeracy to join certain work parties.

The arts and physical training etc. are called Constructive Activities they are not prescribed and are very popular. Unlike in Scotland a prisoner does not have to either work or go to education, however the staff feel that it is their responsibility to motivate the prisoners to do something. To attend would work in their favour, as they would be more likely to be granted parole if they were seen to be using their time positively.

Currently Scotland and New Zealand’s reoffending rate is roughly the same, however the aim is that in 3 years the New Zealand rate will be reduced by at least 5% and it is hopeful that the work that is done to help prisoners discover or re-associate with their cultures and heritage will play a part in bringing this rate down.

Just outside the grounds there are flats where prisoners near the end of their sentence live, four in a flat, it’s a bit like our version of an Open Prison. They go into the Community to work, and are paid a proper wage, which they cannot access until they are released. Therefore some men are leaving jail with $20,000. This means that they have enough money to get accommodation and support themselves. In New Zealand when a prisoner is released they believe that the first 96 hours are vital, and if they are going to reoffend they will do it in that period. In the past they would maybe start preparing for release eight weeks prior to the liberation date, however now they do it years in advance. In certain cultures, there is a bit of displacement with children, they don’t always live with their parents, they are sent to stay with an aunt, then a cousin etc. That is why they find working with the families so important, so they can work on re-establishing bonds, and so the prisoner isn’t going to be released back into the area where they were, and in most cases, where they were part of a gang. They also feel that by connecting with their heritage, they might take more pride in themselves and what they represent.

There is a big difference with the way the prisoners look.  In Scotland many prisoners are drug addicts and are either on drugs or are withdrawing, which affects their physical appearance. In Spring Hill many of the prisoners are big and fit. There is nowhere near the same drug problem. Although in both countries most of the crimes are committed due to being drunk or on drugs, addiction isn’t as a big problem. This could be why there are fewer riots in New Zealand. It could also be that you wouldn’t want to pick a fight with a lot of the prisoners in Spring Hill.

The attitude that the prisoners have to sex offenders in very different, and to protection prisoners in general. In Scotland if you are in protection, you are always in protection (there are a few exceptions to this, when I worked in Shotts I knew of one prisoner who went from protection to mainstream) however in Spring Hill, if you get a gambling debt you might go into protection for a week, then come back into the mainstream and that’s fine. If someone is charged with a sex offense they would be a mainstream prisoner, and they would be fine, which I was very surprised to hear. However, like in Scotland, generally the prisoners who have committed sex offenses are the best behaved.

I asked Gerry what he thinks New Zealand does better, and he felt that the prisoners are kept busier here. The focus on the arts is important because it is therapeutic, it keeps the prisoners busy and engaged, and a big difference seems to be that the New Zealand Government are happy to spend the money to try things out. He said that in Scotland we keep prisoners locked up too long in a day, which leaves them time to think and scheme, where as here they have more to do. That there seems to be the attitude that as long as they are locked up, then it’s fine. He spoke about when he worked in Barlinnie and some prisoners who were high risk of harming themselves got the opportunity to do circus skills. Lots of people questioned why they were doing that, but during that period there was less self-harming happening. However he does think that consistency is important as opposed to just having projects parachute in for 6 weeks.

However, what we do better is that he feels in Scotland the staff have more control in the prisons.

There does seem to be a good attitude over here, that people are willing to try things out. When I heard about the smoking ban, my first thought was there would be no way that would work in Scotland, but that was a lot of people here’s reaction too. The week that it started people were preparing for riots and lockdowns, and it hasn’t happened. It does seem that there is a positive attitude when it comes to trying things out, and ideas and projects are given space. I’m sure not everything does work, but it is great to hear that people want to give it ago.  Gerry mentioned to one of his colleagues about the prison radio project that happens in HMP Greenock, and they are keen to try it out in Spring Hill, so although I am over hear learning about what they are doing, talking to a Scot who has also worked in prisons reminded him about prison radio, so it would be great if my visit inspired a wee project in a New Zealand jail too!

http://www.corrections.govt.nz/utility-navigation/find-a-facility-or-site/find_a_corrections_facility/spring-hill-corrections-facility-shcf.html

Introduction

Hello, welcome to my blog... I've never really done this before and am a bit of a techno-phobe, so apologies that this isn't the most exciting or dynamic site ever.

I would like to take this oppertunity to explain why I am writing this, and why I am about to embark on a wee adventure halfway around the world.

From 2008 - 2010, I had the amazing experiance of being a Lecturer in Performing Art based in two Scottish prisons, HMP Shotts, which is Scotland's maximum security prison for adult men, and HM YOI Polmont which is the Young Offenders Institution for young men aged between 16-21. Polmont houses young men serving long-term and short-term sentences, as well as those on remand. While working in Polmont I did a lot of work with protection prisoners. They are kept seperate from the rest of the prisoners, either if they have committed a sexual offence, or if they, or the prison feel that they would suffer harm should they be in with the main prison body.

For a small country, Scotland has a very high prison population with over 60% of released prisoners reoffending. In 2008 (I think) more children had a member of their family go to prison, than had their parents divorce. A large number of the young men that I worked with in Polmont had family members currently, or who had served time in prison. It very much seems to me that what happens when people are in prison is very important.

I very much believe that access to the arts is an important thing for everyone. The average reading age for a prisoner in a Scottish jail is 7, therefore participating in a project that involves doing, opposed to reading and writing is valuable. When working with mainstream prisoners (as opposed to protection prisoners) they were often mixing with people that they had not worked with before. When we put on performances, we made sure that those involved were able to invite family members, and we had food and tea and coffee for them afterwards to celebrate the work that they had done. I also ran the Storybook Dad project in Shotts, where we filmed prisoners reading stories that their children liked, or in some cases stories that they had written especially for them. They were then put on DVD and the book and the DVD were sent to the child.

I worked with a group in Polmont to write a script for a Show Racism The Red Card competition, and it came in second place, which is a fantastic achievement. This competition was open to schools and Further Education estabilshments throughout Scotland, and the boys had entered through the college that provides education in that prison, the people who were on the judging panel did not neccessarily know that the boys were in prison.

At this point, I was the only Lecturer in Performing Art based in prisons in Scotland. There are amazing theatre companies and artists who go in to prisons and do projects, but nobody else was in every week, as a member of staff, doing the kind of work that I was doing.

I decided to apply for the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship in 2009, and I found out that I was lucky enough to have won a fellowship in 2010. This is a fantastic charity that allows anyone of any age and background the oppertunity to travel to another place in the world to learn more about something that they are passionate in.

On the advice of Simon Rudding, who is the Artistic Director of Theatre in Prisons and Probation (TiPP), based at the University of Manchester, who taught me when I was in my 4th year at the RSAMD, I applied to go to New Zealand to learn how they use arts in prison, and arts as a means to rehabilitate prisoners.

Due to several different factors, it's taken me up til now to organise my trip. I leave in August, and will use this blog as a means to document what I am doing while I'm there and what I am learning.

Related websites:

http://www.wcmt.org.uk/

http://www.tipp.org.uk/tipp/

http://www.sps.gov.uk/

http://www.srtrc.org/resources/films/srtrc-scotland

http://www.familiesoutside.org.uk/

http://www.motherwell.co.uk/about-us/offender-learning-introduction