Join us for this symposium which brings together groups of artists and cultural workers to consider what the role of the arts might be in the UK prison system today.
Cultural approaches to the justice system and its workings have a long and fascinating history, but it is time to ask, again, what works and what doesn’t in arts-based approaches to rehabilitation. Does a vernacular approach offer new opportunities for those inside and outside the prison system to work together, share practices, insights and future plans in the interests of rehabilitation? Who is rehabilitating who when vernacular arts-based approaches find their way in HMPs in the UK? To consider these questions the day will offer opportunities to explore the collaborative work currently taking place in the UK from the perspectives of prison governors, prison educators, researchers in applied arts, local artists and former prisoners.