Working with Music and Offenders: Creative Portal

The Good Vibrations Gamelan in Prisons project

The Good Vibrations project was set up in 2003 with the aim of helping prisoners develop important life skills like communication skills and the ability to work as a team, through participating in gamelan (Indonesian percussion) workshops. Gamelan is particularly suited to this as it is very accessible - you don't need to have any previous musical experience, you don't need to be able to read music, and it's easy to learn the basics. It's also a very communal activity - there is no overall conductor or leader, everyone's contribution is equally important, and the nature of the music means that you have to listen to everyone else to fit your own part in.

We have had three very successful years, working in 8 prisons including a Category A (Wakefield), two YOIs (Glen Parva and Huntercombe) and a secure hospital (Rampton). We have worked with over 400 prisoners and many have developed significantly in the course of our week- or fortnight-long projects. Prison staff have observed striking improvements in people's ability to work together, their ability to listen to each other, and their levels of concentration and sense of self-worth. Prisons have used the workshops as a way of helping participants work towards qualifications including Communications Basic Skills and Social & Life Skills (Group and Teamwork; Responding to Diversity) as we cover much of the syllabuses in the course of the project.

Our work in Yorkshire

We recently started the first ever in-house gamelan project at the Wolds, using a set of instruments we have given to the prison on long-term loan. Here, prisoners can take part in weekly all-day sessions, so developing their musical, communication and teamworking skills over a longer period. There will be an informal performance at the end of the first "term", on Friday 24 March in the morning. You would be very welcome to come along.

We are not due to return to Wakefield till autumn this year when we hope to run another two-week project there (our fourth project in as many years). The population of Wakefield, unlike many prisons, is very stable as all the inmates are serving long sentences (15 years ). So quite a few Good Vibrations participants at Wakefield have come back year after year.

Live Music Now

Aims:

to provide young musicians with paid performance opportunities and support in professional development at the start of their careers.
to help people access the joy of live music in venues such as schools for children with special needs, centres for adults with physical and learning disabilities, homes for older people, young offenders institutions, prisons, hospitals and hospices.

We organise over 3,000 workshops and interactive performances each year through our 9 branches in the UK.

Live Music Now! Yorkshire/Lincolnshire, Mill Houses, Great Habton, Malton, YO17 6TZ, North Yorkshire, Tel: 01653 668 551, Fax: 01653 668 551

Email yorkshire@livemusicnow.org

The Irene Taylor Trust

TYPE OF WORK
Creative use of music with individuals who are socially excluded due to imprisonment.

TARGET GROUPS
Men, women and young offenders in the British prison system

GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
UK

COMPANY POLICY
The Irene Taylor Trust 'Music in Prisons' (ITT) works to encourage and establish the use of music as a powerful tool in the rehabilitation, education and therapeutic process of individuals held in UK prisons. Project leaders work with prisoner groups helping them devise, rehearse, record and perform new music. ITT also raises the profile of music and arts in prisons through the evaluation and dissemination of its working practices.

SCALE OF PROJECTS
Number of practitioners: 3–6
Number of participants: 15–60
Preparation time: 1 day – 2 weeks
Contact time: 5–40 days

PERMANENT STAFF
Sara Lee, Projects Co-ordinator
Kate Lewis, Fundraiser and PR
Nick Hayes, Project Director
Graham Rix, Project Leader

Case Studies

Julius Caesar Project (UK, 1999)

Produced a full-scale music theatre production with an original musical score. Over 50 male prisoners took part in all aspects of the production and the performances were seen by over 600 people. The project lasted seven weeks and proved that long-term arts projects can indeed offer lasting benefits to participants, and ultimately to society in the form of a lower rate of reoffending. Key findings showed that 94% of the men did not offend during the project and there was a 58% decrease in offence rates of participants in the six months following the project.

Timepieces (UK, 2002)

The aim was to work with musicians, a writer, a visual artist, film-maker, director and choreographer and 120 inmates at three London prisons to create and perform three unique cross-arts collaborations. Material produced in one prison was taken to the next prison. A truly collaborative text was then presented to each group of musicians for their interpretation and subsequent performance. Over 120 men and women took part in the project and 350 prisoners and invited guests saw the resulting performances.

Asian Massive (UK, 2002)

Produced a full-scale cultural music festival at Bullingdon Prison, the focal point being a performance of original music produced in a nine-day creative music workshop with a group of 12 prisoners. The group of male prisoners learned to play sitars, dhols, harmoniums, guitars, keyboards and drum kits and created and performed music that reflected the musical vibrancy of both Indian and western cultures.

Contact Details

Sara Lee
The Irene Taylor Trust 'Music in Prisons'
Unit 315, Bon Marche Centre
241 Ferndale Road
London SW9 8BJ

T 44 (0)20 7733 3222
F 44 (0)20 7733 3310

E info@musicinprisons.org.uk
W www.musicinprisons.org.uk

Anne Peaker Centre

The national organisation that promotes and supports the use of the arts in criminal justice

We work primarily in the following six areas:

Advocacy
influencing policy

Capacity Building and Training
delivering a national framework for continuous professional development for creative professionals working in criminal justice

Promotion
promoting the value of the arts

Consultancy
harnessing our knowledge and expertise to shape and fertilize the sector's growth

Evidence
demonstrating the value of the arts through the undertaking, analysis and interpretation of research

Information
sourcing and disseminating clear information, advice and support

Call us on 01227 470 629
Email us at info@apcentre.org.uk

The Koestler Awards Scheme

The purpose of the Koestler Awards Scheme is to encourage and reward a variety of creative endeavours from men and women held in United Kingdom Prisons, Young Offender Institutions, from patients in Special Hospitals and other Hospital units and young people in Secure Units.

Each year prisoners, patients and young offenders are invited to submit their work (whether completed on their own or in the classroom) for consideration. Prison Education Co-ordinators and Education Managers, supported by other senior staff act as local agents for the Scheme and encourage and advise participants on their entries and applications.

Entries in the Art, Craft, Ceramics, Matchstick Models, Needlecraft including Tapestry Design, Calligraphy and Decorative Calligraphy, Photography and Recycling categories are sent to the Koestler Arts Centre from their Prisons, Secure Units and Special Hospitals of origin. The Visual Arts judges spend two days studying entries and deciding upon the Awards to be given.

Music Performance judges spend several days listening to over 300 tapes and making their assessments. Later they write comprehensive critical comments for the benefit of the entrants.

Entries in the Music Composition, Poetry, Prose, Playwriting, Computer Skills and Performance of the Spoken Word categories are all sent to the Competition judges concerned for their decisions and critical advice.

Prison Enterprise & Activity Services, Construction Industry Training and Physical Education entries are judged by experienced Prison Service professionals.

The Competition judges give their services free of charge and are all acknowledged experts in their own fields. The work submitted to the Competition covers an extremely wide range of ability, style and subject matter and the judges seek to reflect in their decisions the broadest possible understanding of each entrant’s creative effort and individual enterprise. All the judges are dedicated people who give an enormous amount of time and energy to the Koestler Awards Scheme.

For further information please contact Dorothy Salmon, Director, Koestler Awards Trust, 9 Birchmead Avenue, Pinner HA5 2BG Tel: 020-8868-4044