|
|
|
Art Education |
|
|
The
fact that Art is so popular with those who avail of education within
Irish Prisons is an obvious indication of the importance of the subject
to the many students who choose to study the subject while in prison.
Students for the most part have little or no experience of art creating
techniques when they enrol for classes. As well as learning the basic
skills involved in creating pieces of artwork, Art education also
facilitates enhanced creative thinking, enables personal development and
encourages self-esteem. |
|
Exhibitions afford the
students the opportunity to display the fruits of their creative and
painstaking work to the outside world. Each year in the Training Unit we
have an in-house exhibition which forms the focal point of the Arts
Week. Occasionally we have an art exhibition in an external venue. One
such exhibition in 2003 was titled 'Lifelines' and represented the work
of students who attended art classes in the Training Unit over the
previous sixteen years. It was a record of the
search for a lifeline to the world of individual and collective
self-expression and pointed to the kind of educational and artistic
achievements possible when the right context is provided for adult
learners. BM, Training Unit, Ireland |
|
back
to Top |
|
Projects
and Printmaking |
|
The most popular activity in the Art class
in Mountjoy is oil painting. Some students work on individual and highly
personal projects while others work on Group Projects in various
mediums, where they experience working towards a common goal.
 
Set Painting |
Group Project
Prints Drying |
Group Projects are often a backup to other activities in the prison such
as stage set painting and these involve students in working to a
deadline. Some Group Projects take place over
an extended period of time.
Students also have a keen interest in printmaking. They do this on an
etching press where they are taught the basics of printing. We use
stainless steel or aluminium plates. These are etched using either Dry
Point or Relief Gel. Carborundum printing is also used which gives good
tones and Monoprints are also used for colour printing. |
|
JB, Mountjoy, Ireland |
|
back
to Top |
|
Screen-printing |
|
Screen-printing is one of the activities
available to the women who attend Art classes at the
Dochas Centre. While some people prefer to work in more direct
media such as painting, others appreciate the craft element involved in
screen print. We use basic techniques - paper-cut stencils and wax
crayon resist. This does not mean that the resulting prints are
simplistic, but it does mean that a good deal of planning and design is
required to adapt images to suit the medium and it can take some time to
achieve a finished product. The women get satisfaction from developing
the skills to control the process, and achieving the bold, colourful
effects unique to printing. |
Cutting paper stencil
Screen-printing |
We usually print onto fabric - t-shirts,
cushion covers, and bags. Once the stencil has been made and attached to
the screen multiple images can be produced. Small editions of three to
four prints are the norm. We sometimes print editions of fifteen to
twenty five when producing posters for particular events within the
centre, such as the Dochas Fashion Show. Many of the women attend Art
classes in order to make gifts for children and family. Where there is
concern that they will not have time to make something for each of their
children, screen-printing can sometimes provide the answer and the
entire family can be presented with matching t-shirts, if so desired! |
|
JG, Dóchas Centre, Ireland |
|
back
to Top |
|
Mosaics |
|
Making mosaic |
Mosaics were started in Mountjoy Education
Centre as a follow on to making stained glass pieces such as planters
and lampshades. The mosaics are created using tile pieces on board. The
students produce interesting compositions with a wide range of
imaginative designs. In May 2003 we managed to have an exhibition of
their work. This was titled 'Timepieces' and contained over twenty
mosaics. |
'Splash Blue' |
|
The students also created
a mosaic for the Special Olympics. Measuring 122cm wide and 183cm tall,
the mosaic took three weeks to complete. With their mosaics going on
view to the public, there was a great sense of satisfaction for the
prisoners. Generally they get such bad press that it's nice when
something positive emerges. JR, Mountjoy, Ireland |
|
back
to Top |
|
Ceramics
and Sculpture |
|
|
Ceramics and Pottery classes form an important part of the Art education
provision in Arbour Hill Education Centre. The classes operate at a
number of different levels. Beginners are taught slab building, coiling,
slip mixing and cross-hatching. After a number of weeks this leads onto
vessel building, sculpting and glazing. This gives students the
opportunity to discover the diverse medium of clay and find areas that
they can engage in and further explore. |
|
One such area is throwing
on the wheel. Here students are taught how to prepare the clay for
throwing, to centre the clay and extend it vertically and horizontally.
They then learn design production, finishing and glazing. Some students
focus on modeling and sculpting. They begin with simple clay figures and
move on to designing and building dioramas and large scale busts. ZC,
Arbour Hill, Ireland
|
|
back
to Top |
|
Animation |
|
Animation
is very much a group activity and involves the participants in creating
sets, props and backdrops as well as the clay model characters involved
in the animations. It has been part of the Art programme in Cork
Education Centre since 2002 when two short animation films were made -
"The Peace Cup", which is a four minute film and "The Hotel on the
Hill", which runs for six minutes. The storylines are taken from the
students own work and here the students learn to edit down their
material and hone in on central and more creative aspects of their
stories. It also involves the students in the film making process where
they develop the patience and good work ethic necessary for the time
consuming effort of scene by scene filming. The students also gain
experience in recording the voices, sound effects and music for the
animations. With an enthusiastic group willing to put in the time and
effort, the tasks involved in animation are achievable over a relatively
short period of time. TC, Cork, Ireland |
 |
|
back
to Top |
|
Art
classes in Oslo and Bredtveit Prison, Norway |
|
In 2000, Grønland Adult Learning Centre
started the project “Formgiving”. The project's
aim was to give the inmates of Oslo Prison (male prison) an opportunity
to explore and develop their artistic talents. The interest among the
inmates for practicing and learning artistic subjects was high, and the
project was considered to be a success. After three
years it came to be a permanent offer on the curriculum. Grønland Adult
Learning Center then wanted to establish a class with the same subject
for the inmates at Bredtveit Prison (female prison), and during the last
two years one teacher is dividing a full time position between Bredtveit
Prison and Oslo Prison.
The classes are
founded on
the syllabuses for college education, which
subjects include drawing and painting
techniques, creative processes, colours
systems, and the use of computers.
Several of the inmates have little or poor
experiences from school outside prison and needs
to experience school as a place to grow
and learn, and not a place to show how clever you are and then get a
scolding if you don’t perform. We want to make the threshold for
applying for school a little lower for the individual. In our classes we
meet the individual on his or her level and adapt the learning process
to their needs. The number of inmates in class is about 3 – 4.
|
|
Experimenting with printing on different surfaces
|
At present we are
working on a cooperation project between the school and the workshop at
Bredtveit Prison. The idea of this project is to offer theory of art and
drawing lessons at school, combined with practical work in the workshop.
The technique we focus on is “screen print” with the use of photographic
emulsion. This technique requires both skills in drawing and using
computers, classes which are provided at school. It also requires use of
the carpenter’s workshop to make frames, a darkroom to develop the
screen and a textile workshop to print and finish the products. This
project also gives the workshops new ideas for products to sell in the
prison shop. Also, the students get experience in designing for
production and actually see that their works are used as items that
people want to buy. |
|
Bente Myhre Hansen,
Art Teacher, Grønland Adult
Learning Centre, Oslo, Norway |
|
back
to Top |
|
Cards
and Calendars |
|
|
The idea of producing a calendar depicting
artwork by prisoners who attend art classes in prison Education Centres
was conceived by the art teacher in Portlaoise prison. The 2006 calendar
was the fourth calendar produced by art teachers working with the Prison
Education Service in Ireland. In 2005 we printed a calendar using work
from Europe and Ireland. The 2006 calendar represents work from prisons
in Ireland only, incorporating extracts of poetry for each month from
prisoners in Wheatfield prison. |
|
|
The calendar consists of six cards, each
with a month printed on either side, and a seventh card for the cover
and explanatory note. The set of cards are packaged in a CD case which
couples as a stand.
In 2007, we produced
playing cards with each card depicting individual pieces of artwork.
The set of 54
playing cards
showcases artwork made by prisoners
throughout Ireland. The images are a
small representation of the exciting and innovative work done in
Irish Prisons today. We were also fortunate to
hove PACE and Pathways, both Post Release Centres in Dublin, represented
in this selection.
Irish Prison
Art Teachers wish to thank all artists who submitted work for this
project and all who helped in any way.
Veronica
Hoen, Art projects coordinator, Prison
Education Service, Ireland |
|
back
to Top |
|
Postcard Art Project |
|
 |
"The
arts are a means of expressing one’s self and many people are in prison
because of their inability to express themselves, therefore the arts are
therapeutic and it is sad if they are not supported." - (Prisoner, personal comment) |
 |
|
The ‘Postcard Art’
project began in Moorland Closed prison, England in 2006, It is
part of the “Visual Imprints on the Prison Landscape” project by Anita
Wilson of the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Lancaster
University. I have introduced the Postcard Art project to several
establishments in England and hope to expand it further to prisons in
other countries.
A
postcard is not just a pretty picture
–
there is another side to it. We draw or print the postcards of the
students' artwork and encourage them to write about their work on the
reverse. They explain how they achieved the result, where the idea came from and
what they feel about their work.
The cards are then collected and posted on to another prison
establishment. We
then invite other art students to reply.
The idea is two-fold; firstly, each student critically analyses his own
work and secondly invites others to
comment. They learn
to share and contribute.
The responding learner gains insight into the work of others and maybe
gains inspiration.
Mutually the learners
start to trust in others, to see a world outside their immediate sphere,
to join in and
take part in something.
Linda
Pickersgill,
Art Co-ordinator, Moorland Closed prison, England
|
|
