Free Flow Art ( formerly Learning 2 Learn)
Thu, 09/04/2009 - 23:00
The Possibilities of Paper is the third project Anne Peaker Centre has delivered at HMP High Down. Other L2L projects in 2008 have included a graphic novel, ‘Low Down @ High Down’, and a story book for children; ‘Tito, the Magic Whistling Songbird’. This project was the final project of L2L Phase 3, and was funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
The overall aim of Learning 2 Learn is to reduce re-offending through encouraging learning and personal development, hence supporting prisoners back into the job world. Through L2L learners can gain a recognised OCN qualification in life skills to support them into employment or training. Learning methods are kinaesthetic and involve hands on creative groupwork, providing a different experience to the traditional school classroom. Research has shown that employers are keen to see evidence of social and life skill. The most important skills and qualities when considering employing ex-offenders are honesty (92%), reliability (89%) and personal behaviour (84%).
Learning to Learn Through the Arts- Project background
Statistics reveal just how many people in prison are severely disadvantaged as a result of their lack of education and basic skills:
- 33% of prisoners are unable to read
- 50% cannot write
- 40% of juvenile offenders are innumerate
- 52% of prisoners have dyslexia compared to just 5-10% of the general population.
Surveys directly relate offending to the lack or absence of basic skills such as literacy and numeracy. Prison education departments work hard on limited budgets to help prisoners achieve these. However, it is now widely recognised that we all learn differently. Some of us learn aurally, others need visual stimulus, and others still, a more kinaesthetic, hands-on approach.
It is also known that there are at least three pre-requisites to being in a position to be able to learn at all:
- self-motivation
- self-esteem
- trust
For the 80% of prisoners who did not enjoy school, it is unlikely that they will respond positively to another formal classroom setting and traditional teaching.
Learning 2 Learn offers a new way of teaching and learning basic, key and life skills through creative, practical and supportive engagement. Participants learn by seeing, doing, experimenting and working as a team. In this way the classroom setting is transformed into a dynamic and interactive environment in which each individual can feel that he/she has a vital role to play within the whole group.
Between 2002 and 2006, Angela Findley set up a scheme called Learning to Learn through the Arts whose aim is to address some of the blocks to learning experienced by many prisoners such as fear, negative emotions, low self-esteem and peer pressure.
Through intensive 4 week long multi-media arts projects, ranging from mosaic and murals to stone-carving and print-making, prisoners are given the opportunity to learn skills and techniques that can help them become more employable and therefore lead more productive lives upon release.
The Learning to Learn scheme recognizes the differing needs of people when it comes to learning and aims to provide an alternative teaching method to the traditional classroom setting. Prisoners learn through creative, practical and supportive engagement. They learn by seeing, doing, experimenting and working as a team. In this way the classroom setting is transformed into a dynamic and interactive environment in which each individual can feel that he/she has a vital role to play within the whole.
It was always Angela’s vision to develop rolling programs of consecutive art projects at one or more prisons with the aim of integrating the arts more fully into the prison regime.
From 2004 - 06 Angela set up the Garden Project in collaboration with HMP Send prison for women in Surrey. The project consisted of five separate art projects and involved transforming part of a disused football pitch into a garden and play area for the mothers and their children. The women participated in creating mosaic seats, stepping stones and hopscotch, carved wooden posts, a labyrinth, a stone sundial and many painted sculptural features based on the themes of the four seasons, nature and wildlife. HMP Send are now developing the garden further on their own.
"One of the things that struck me was watching women who were quite content working the land, whilst being part of a group, and how this for some may have been the first time they experienced true team spirit. I recall being shown around the fantastic Labyrinth by a female prisoner and having her explain the philosophy of saying a prayer or meditation and how this process can enable hopes to be realized. This must have been and hopefully still remains something that many of those women will do in the hope that their lives will change. The garden will be a gift for the prison and many inmates for years to come and will continue to offer them a vocation which is both a cathartic and pragmatic approach to rehabilitation- the transformational healing powers of the arts!"
Susan Ashmore, ex-CEO of Anne Peaker Centre for Arts in Criminal Justice
When Angela left the Koestler Trust in July 2006, the Learning to Learn Through the Arts scheme was adopted by Anne Peaker Centre who, together with Angela, are developing it further.
Comments from participating prisoners
"You have helped me to strengthen my resolve to make the future bright."
"I'm now more confident dealing with prisoners and staff. My self-esteem was quite low and this course really picked me up."
"The course gave me more confidence in myself. It gave me the confidence to stand up and do something that I thought that I would not be able to do... and maybe I won't be as scared to take a chance on the outside with my new confidence."
Latest Update:
People Junction ( MARCH 2ND -13TH 2009)
A multi-media arts project at HMP High Down
Project Concept
Conceived and planned early in 2009, People Junction, as other projects of the L2L programme, was targeted at inmates with no previous contact with prison education. In keeping with the programme’s aims it was hoped that it would provide an informal and inspiring conduit into High Down’s Education Department.
Sarah Butterworth and Matthew Meadows, who had both worked at High Down before, devised People Junction in response to the prison’s unusually wide ethnic and cultural range of inmates, many of whom are held on immigration infringements, as the prison ‘serves’ two nearby international airports.
Project Description:
The final outcome was to be a wall hanging, which brought together individual personal journeys, and portrayed the prison in the shape of its outer perimeter. The group was taken through a series of introductory creative tasks to stimulate ideas and ways of visually portraying information. These included collage ‘identikit’ self portraits made up of different photographs of anonymous faces. Students also participated in a mapping exercise showing their personal life journeys, building in contour lines; places of interest, viewpoints and symbols. The group was encouraged to use different lines, colours and textures to illustrate their feelings about their chosen events, pathways etc. Most chose to focus on real events, one illustrated an imaginary journey, inspired by his love of Star Trek and comets.
The main body of work engaged them in portraying their journeys to HMP High Down, using an enticing menu of art and craft processes and techniques including collage, drawing and painting, textiles and printmaking. Several artists’ work was used as inspiration; Arcimboldo’s portraits, Paul Klee’s abstraction and mapping techniques such as ‘Taking a Line for a Walk’, Saul Steinberg’s and Ben Shahn’s illustrations and observations. Other practitioners’ work was used to illustrate ways of organising and portraying material; Edward Tufte’s ‘Information Graphics’ and ‘An Exeter Misguide’
Possibilities of the Paper (April-November 2008)
The project aimed to support prisoners to:
- build teamwork skills
- develop new arts skills and familiarity with materials
- produce a piece of group artwork
Project Description:
Two artists Sylvia Edwards and Sarah Butterworth delivered the 9 day project.
The project began with a brainstorm on the uses of paper, and an introduction to paper sculptors Su Blackwell, Peter Callesen and Richard Sweeney. The group then worked alone or in pairs and on activities aimed a
t building their individual creativity and confidence. They took text from fairy stories and poems to make 3D tableaux. They explored a range of manipulation techniques (i.e. rolling paper, scrunching, tearing), but were limited by the absence of metal scissors and scalpels. This also seemed to encourage dexterity and imagination. The group found the mental processes of converting a 2D material into 3D quite challenging, but they were satisfied with their results. Already there was co-operation as the more literate helped those with reading problems and they focused well in pairs. Some fantastic work emerged, specifically one sculpture of an old man with a walking stick, inspired by an Edward Lear limerick. This was made in 5 minutes by one participant from a piece of A4 paper. We hope to enter this piece into the
Koestler Exhibition.
Aside from wanting to acquire arts-based skills, the men set personal goals for themselves; learning from people, gaining inspiration, and ‘patience to study’ were among them. The collective goal was to complete a group sculpture for display.
Our main objective was to construct a paper castle using willow and tissue paper. This began with the building of 6 foot towers in groups of 4. They responded enthusiastically, researching from illustrations of castles, building a practice ‘tower’ on which they learnt how to build from a plan and elevation sketch, how to measure, trim and join withies, and how to brace the structure for strength. Their skills in teamwork were also tested as one prisoner took it upon himself to direct his group, the others responded tactfully, deciding as a group to take it in turns to lead. Another student, preferring to work alone, had to be encouraged to join in and once given a task, was happy to be involve.
Feedback from Prisoners
Q: What 
did you get out of this project?
''To meet other people and achieve a goal. To experiment in something I never done better ''(OL)
''Sense of achievement. Learning to do something totally different to what I would normally do'' (RK)
''I think I got a lot out of the course it took my mind away from prison, team work, new skills and made a good friend with...'' (RK)
''I got a sense of belonging to a good team. I also got knowledge of different art forms that I previously did not have''(DC)
''I enjoyed the paper side, pop up cards, I missed some of it, but its something I could do by myself. I made some new friends'' (DT)
Q: Would you like to do something like this again?
''Yes I would because it is a lifetime experience (OL) would because it is a lifetime experience'' (OL)
''Yes I would most certainly like to do something like this again. The tutors on this project were more then helpful and patient with the inmates (…)'' (DC)
L2L Phase Three now complete
WINTER 2008
Learning 2 Learn Phase 3 has now run 4 successful arts projects and we are implementing the final two at Rochester YOI and HMP High Down.
About 50 men have participated altogether, some of them in several projects. At High Down students have worked with writer Mark Norfolk and artists Matthew Meadows and Jan Dayman to complete a graphic novel entitled Low Down at High Down, and a children's book about a marvellous whistling bird called Tito. A third paper sculpting project has commenced.
At Rochester YOI artists Marina Cobra, Emily Fuller, Siobhan Timoney and Helen McKeith have completed 3D mask making and sculpture projects, and are now delivering a painting project which uses literature as an inspiration for painting.
Most learners have successfully completed OCN units in assertiveness, decision making and teamwork. Certain men have been putting their names down consistently for L2L, they have taken on more responsibility and their skills and confidence have increased over time; one student commented "I never knew I could draw", whilst another found the Tito project "very creative and rewarding". Feedback is very positive, and each project has encouraged participants to discuss potent issues, reflect upon themselves and look more positively towards the future.
We feel we are developing excellent working partnerships with Rochester and Highdown education departments but working creatively within the prison regime remains challenging; where students have not able to complete their OCN units, it has generally been due to them not making it out of their cells to the arts sessions. Working with prison regimes to overcome such problems is a priority for L2L in the future.
L2L has also working with the Law Department at Queens College, Univeristy of London, to evaluate the work, and identify the future impact L2L can have on prisoners' learning experiences, with a view to reducing re-offending. Click here to view this evaluation
Sarah Butterworth
L2L Project Manager
Contact: learning2learn@hotmail.co.uk
Learning to Learn through the Arts 2001-2004
HMYOI Feltham
July 2001, 4 weeks, 4 days per week
Led by Angela Findlay, painting/colour
Inside Colours - exploring the properties and effects of colours on our thoughts, emotions and bodies and redecorating the Teal Unit accordingly with colour washes and murals.
This was the first of the Koestler Art in Prison Projects. A group of 8 young lads volunteered to take part in the 4 week long course, experimenting with colours to discover how to use them to create a desired mood in a specific room. They then went on to re-decorate the dining room, the TV rest room and the snooker room using colours, designs and murals chosen by the group and often by some of the other boys on the wing. The participants, as well as the officers, were amazed at what they achieved.
HMP Wandsworth
June - July 2003, 4 days per week
Led by Angela Findlay, painting/colour, and Adam Barley, movement/dance
Beyond Words - Using art and drama to explore different forms of communication and leading to an accreditation in Communication Key Skills Level 2
This course aimed to enhance Communication skills by combining dancing/movement with colour knowledge and painting to create non-verbal forms of communicating.
The prisoners did simple painting exercises to get to know the individual colours and what emotions and qualities they can express. Simultaneously they did movement and dancing exercises to help them overcome inhibitions and use body language more effectively.
Gradually they began to find their own interest and developed both pictures and a short performance, accompanied by a haiku, to express a theme or idea that they felt was of importance to them personally. These performances were extraordinarily powerful and each man felt a huge sense of achievement having completed it.
HMP Brixton
November - December 2003, 6 weeks, 2 days per week
Led by Alistair Lambert, sculptor
Tessellating Tiles - developing repeated motifs to create relief ceramic tiles for a number of decorative murals in the education department and visitor's waiting area.
A small group of prisoners took on the task of creating patterned relief tiles to be assembled into geometric patterns and mounted on the walls. This involved quite a production line of repetitive motifs, the final effect of which could only be fully appreciated or even envisaged when they were assembled on the walls. This demanded patience and perseverance but the end results impress all who see them.
HMP High Down
November - December 2003, 5 weeks, 4 days per week
Led by Iain Macdonald, creative writing and Matthew Meadows, print-making
The Time Between - creative writing and print-making leading to the production of an illustrated children's story book. Made by fathers for their children and leading to an OCR accreditation in Key Skills in Communication and Working Together.
One of the aims of this project was to improve links between prisoners and their family outside and to begin to rebuild the often damaged relationship with their children. This attracted fathers who wanted to create a story book for their own children. Using simple print-making techniques, recycled materials, and creative writing they produced an illustrated book that was printed out in colour so that each person had a copy to give to their children. The ideas for their stories were often inspired by the children themselves or by a favourite toy or event.
HMYOI Rochester
January - February 2004, 8 weeks, 2 days per week
Led by Emily Fuller and Helen MacKeith, Public Art and Design Partnership
Outside Art - designing, fabricating and installing a horizontal mosaic for one of the exercise yards.
This project emphasised both the importance of working as a team towards a common goal. One of the aims of our Learning to Learn projects is to teach some of the skills needed both for learning as well as those needed for creating a good piece of art. The gradual building up of something step by step, piece by piece, finally culminating in an end result requires great patience and perseverance.
These boys were amazing in their ability to work individually and as a group, and in sticking out the discomfort of the coldest days of January when installing the final piece in the exercise yard.
HMP and YOI Bullwood Hall
Jan-April 2004, 12 weeks, one day per week
Led by Bunny Schendler, animation and Debbie Humphry, photography
This is our Broken Silence - developing photo-animation, drawing and photography skills to explore the theme of Identity and Self portraiture, to produce a short animated film using computer technology. Leading in some cases to Communication Level 1 Key Skill.
Unlike the other projects this one was only once a week hence the extended length of the course. The 11 girls learnt many new artistic and photographic skills and techniques as well as gaining computing experience. The final video was far beyond anything they had thought or even imagined they were capable of doing.
HMP Belmarsh
June 2004, 4 weeks, 4 days per week
Led by Tom Hallifax, portrait painter and Hugh Dunford-Wood, painter
Face to Face and The Inner Man - a two part course dealing with portraiture and the outer appearances of people as well as exploring their inner worlds, identity and imaginations through the medium of painting.
Face to Face involved the men in looking at their physical appearance and drawing it in a variety of media. The Inner Man followed on as more of an artistic exploration of themselves and all that they are beyond their physical appearance. All the work was exhibited on the walls of the art room at the end of the project giving a real impression of total individuals despite their common outer situation.
HMYOI Reading
August - September 2004, 3 weeks, 4 days per week
Led by Will Spankie, stone carving, and Paulien Gluckman, Sculptress
Relief Stone Carving - a stone carving project in which participants created a Tudor Rose carving to be installed in the Education Department followed by a personal design to keep for themselves.
Despite the potential security hazard of having hammers and chisels, the course ran extremely smoothly thanks to the Education Department's vision, efficiency and enthusiasm. The 9 boys who participated were challenged both by the hard resistance of the stone and the sensitivity with which they had to use the tools. All of them worked towards an OCR accreditation.
At the end of this project a formal opening ceremony was arranged with food, the press and visitors and one's heart could only sing when seeing the pride on each lad's face as he received his certificate, possibly the first recognition of achievement that he had ever had.
HMP Wormwood Scrubs
June - July 2004, 5 weeks 3-4 days per week
Led by Moira McCarthy, Visual Arts and Gino Ballantyne, drawing/painting/computer skills
Tattoo Project - designing and creating large scale banners inspired by tattoos and body art, to be hung both inside the prison wings, the Chapel and other selected places
The atmosphere of any environment changes with the introduction of Art. In prisons in particular where security issues often cause cold and bleak conditions, the addition of art, colour, textures and beauty can have an uplifting and humanising effect. This is not only important for the prisoners but also for the officers who have to work long hours in the often oppressive atmosphere.
This course was originally aimed at dyslexics and totally illiterate people to help them find an enjoyable way of learning to write. This was however very difficult for the prison to organise.
The resulting banners measured on average 8' x 4' and are stunning to look at. They have been displayed on the wings, in the Chapel for the Koestler Special Event, at HMP Leyhill as part of their Marked Men exhibition and the V&A are interested in exhibiting them there too.