Penal Arts Interventions and Hope: Outcomes of Arts-Based Projects in Prisons and Community Settings*

• Author: Susie Atherton,Benedict Carpenter van Barthold,Victoria Knight
• Date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: 10.1177/00328855221079282
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Penal Arts Interventions

and Hope: Outcomes of

Arts-Based Projects in

Prisons and Community

Settings*

Susie Atherton

1

,VictoriaKnight

2

,

and Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

3

Abstract

The value of arts-based projects within the criminal justice system is well

documented, as research has identif‌ied positive outcomes relating to

inmates’behavior and their relationships with others. This article examines

the work of the Soft Touch Arts project at HMP Leicester, UK and identif‌ies

the importance of hope as a transformative outcome. Interviews with artists

in prison and community settings demonstrated the value of engaging in cre-

ative and purposeful activity, generating hope which enabled artists to aspire

to a better future. This occurred alongside ameliorating the harms of prison

and helping artists manage their relationship with probation services.

Keywords

prison arts, wellbeing, social prescribing, innovation, rehabilitation, hope

1

University of Gloucester, Cheltenham, UK

2

De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

3

Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK

*

In memory of Jahmaine Davis- Artist

Corresponding Author:

Victoria Knight, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK.

Email: vknight@dm.ac.uk

Article

The Prison Journal

2022, Vol. 102(2) 217–236

© 2022 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855221079282

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Introduction

This article examines the work of the Soft Touch Arts based workshops,

Unlocked, in prison and community settings. The workshops adopt the

principle of social prescribing, which aims to engage imprisoned and

re-entering citizens in creative learning. Unlocked was funded between

2017–2020 in order to improve wellbeing of both inmates and

probationers.

The program is distinctive in its approach, as lead artists facilitate the

participants to shape their own learning and create their own meaningful

artworks. To date, the program has delivered two public exhibitions in

2018 and 2020, and contributed to projects inside and outside the

prison. The research team was actively engaged with Soft Touch Arts

and routinely invited to team meetings and consulted in decision

making, which enabled them to respond to emerging issues. The partici-

pants were known as ‘artists’from the onset, an ethos which directly chal-

lenged the lived experience of those in custody and those returning to the

community, in that they were not solely labeled inmates and/or

ex-inmates.

The program followed the principles of Leamy et al.’s (2011) CHIME

framework, which advocates an approach based on health and recovery

models. The elements of this model are connectedness, hope (and opti-

mism), identity, meaning in life, and empowerment. This aligns with the

aims of Unlocked’s activities to shift rehabilitation strategies from a sole

focus on risk towards practices in which incarcerated persons can engage

with a different identity and more purposeful activities. The juxtaposition

between techniques of control, risk management, surveillance, and empow-

erment through creative outlets is vivid in the research data (Anderson,

2018; Herrity et al., 2018; Wilson et al., 2009). In the context of penal

studies, this distinctive project illustrates how innovations in the criminal

justice system can not only soften the harms of incarceration but trigger feel-

ings of hope and resilience that are crucial for meaningful re-entry into the

community (Anderson, 2018; Stephenson & Watson, 2018).The purpose of

this article is to explore how innovative arts interventions can be deployed

with enhanced wellbeing benef‌its and can, therefore, be adopted and recog-

nized as meaningful rehabilitation initiatives. This is examined in the

context of social prescribing as a framework to understand how innovative

working practices benef‌it those within the criminal justice system. It also

identif‌ies the direct impact of this innovative arts’intervention, demonstrat-

ing the importance of hope, creativity, and building trust and social skills to

prepare for re-entry and recovery.

218 The Prison Journal 102(2)