National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance

Clinks annual conference and AGM 2022
2022-11-22 09:30 - 18:00 (Europe/London)
Tuesday 22 November 2022, 09:30 – 18:00 | Drapers’ Hall, Throgmorton Street, London, EC2N 2AN
What next? Building strength and unity in a changing criminal justice system
Recovery from the pandemic and major changes to the criminal justice operating environment, including probation unification and proposed prison reforms, present significant challenges, as well as some opportunities, to voluntary organisations and the people they support. Through these changes the voluntary sector’s strength, determination and flexibility enables organisations to prioritise people in contact with the criminal justice system and their families.
Our State of the Sector research has shown that these changes have come on top of, not instead of, wider challenges that have long faced the sector. At this year’s conference, we aim to strengthen the voluntary sector’s ability to succeed together amidst an ever-changing environment. Alongside hearing from our keynote speaker; Phil Copple, Director General of Operations for Prisons and Probation, we will be running panel discussions and workshops showcasing best practice and the sharing of ideas and recommendations from some of our member organisations.
Our panel discussions will delve into how voluntary sector organisations can look to diversify their funding opportunities within the criminal justice system, as well as how we can all prioritise wellbeing for staff and explore ways in which we can ensure our workforce feels valued when salary increases are not always possible, and the retention of skilled and talented staff remains a concern. During our workshops we will be looking at the importance of our workforces being diverse and representative of those who access services and the challenges that are faced in doing this within the voluntary criminal justice sector. We will also be exploring the concept of Framing; and how the sector can be a united voice and be more than the sum of its parts. Further details on these panel discussions and workshops and how to sign up to them will be shared soon, and if you are interested in being involved and sharing your experiences of these topics at the conference then please do get in touch at events@clinks.org.
The conference will be followed by our AGM and a drinks reception. In addition to allowing us to carry out business that is vital to the running of Clinks, our AGM is the place for members to exercise the right to elect our trustees, and a chance to discuss the issues that matter to you as a member.
Our early bird tickets are now on sale and are available until 20 October, so please do book yourself a space by clicking the ‘Book now’ tab – we look forward to seeing you at Drapers’ Hall!
More information including how to book is available via the Clinks website

Koestler Arts: Freedom
2022-10-27 00:00 - 2022-12-18 17:00
27 Oct –⁠ 18 Dec, 10am
Standard entry: FREE

Koestler Arts’ fifteenth Annual UK Exhibition in partnership with the Southbank Centre this October will be curated by Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist, Ai Weiwei. 2022 marks the 60th anniversary of the Koestler Awards and Ai Weiwei wants this landmark exhibition to be ‘the most ambitious yet’.
The vision for the exhibition is inspired by Weiwei’s visit to the Koestler Arts building, which currently holds over 6,500 artworks entered into this year’s Awards. Taken aback by the quantity of artworks and the range of categories on display, Weiwei’s concept evolved; to be as inclusive as possible and to let the artwork show how humanity responds when put in extreme circumstances.

Movement Medicine
2022-10-19 08:00 - 17:00
Growing the capacities of grassroots movements, community health providers and those at the frontlines to become sustainable and adaptive.
Movement Medicine: Building Radical Organisations
Thu, 20 Oct 2022, 16:00 – Thu, 1 Dec 2022, 17:30
Online
Skill sharing and peer hack with Project Tallawah, Level Up, Systemic Justice & Healing Justice Ldn: What are the ways we can innovate practices, radical organisational systems, policies and practices that help us sustain radical work while navigating hostile contexts and structures? What can we build from existing?
Movement Medicine: #BeyondtheRules Radical Governance
Thu, 27 Oct 2022, 14:00 – Thu, 1 Dec 2022, 16:00
Online
Tactic sharing and peer hack with Dark Matter Labs: these workshops will explore how can we reimagine and rewire employment contracts within current legal structures, towards relational, agile, inclusive, healing, open ways of organising.
Movement Medicine: Reimagining Safety – Radical Health Practice
Fri, 4 Nov 2022, 10:00 – Fri, 9 Dec 2022, 12:30
London
4 sessions exploring safety and medical institutions with Ameen Kamlana, Latifa Akay & Farah Elahi.
Reimagining Safety through the bi-focal lenses of ‘harm reduction’ & ‘connection’ to confront Islamophobia, White Supremacy, and the Security Industrial Complex within Health & Social Care, to build radical foundations of Transformative Justice, Abolition, Community Accountability.
Movement Medicine: Addressing the Ruptures
Wed, 16 Nov 2022, 11:00 – Wed, 23 Nov 2022, 12:30
Online
‘Addressing the Ruptures’ with Project Tallawah and Level Up will explore how these organisations hold difficult conversations and address harm internally. These workshops will make space for attendees to engage in and process their own difficult conversations, while being present to the feelings that arise for them in the moment.
Movement Medicine: Roots and Routes
Sun, 27 November 2022, 13:00 – 16:30
London
‘you remember the dreams and the brightness, the truths. you remember the entrance the closeness the route to the place we now glow. you remember the way and the want and the loss. you remember the distance, the pull and the cost. you remember remembering and jolt and toss. don’t forget what you know.’ – Alex Pauline Gumbs ‘Dub Finding Ceremony’
Roots & Routes is a workshop on remembering and activating ancestral, diasporic and migrant knowledges that sustain us and the movements we are part of.

Find out more

Arts in criminal justice network forum: Introduction to the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS)
2022-09-29 10:00 - 12:00 | Online
Are you an arts practitioner interested in delivering your project in prisons but unsure how to secure funding? Are you already aware of the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) but need more information to get you started?
This forum is aimed at all arts practitioners with no, or limited, knowledge of the DPS but with the desire and commitment to create positive change through the arts within prisons.
We will be joined by a member of HMPPS who will take us through the DPS step by step and hear from the Clinks’ Area Development (AD) and National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) teams about alternative routes of commissioning.
Register to attend via the Clinks website
There will also be a policy update and you will have the chance to meet others working in this field.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing all information required to join the meeting, including a password.
We are committed to making our events inclusive. If you have any accessibility needs, please let us know when you book, and we will do our best to meet them.
If you have any questions about the meetings, please email info@artsincriminaljustice.org.uk. If you experience any issues with booking, please contact events@clinks.org.
Keep checking the NCJAA website for further information on future events or sign up to the NCJAA newsletter here.

10 YEARS OF SOUNDING OUT AND MAKING TRACKS
2022-09-15 19:30
The Irene Taylor Trust has been inspiring people through its ‘Music in Prisons’ projects since 1995; in 2012 it extended this work ‘through-the-gate’ into the community with the ‘Sounding Out’ programme for former prisoner musicians, and ‘Making Tracks’, an initiative for young people experiencing challenging circumstances.
The resulting original music gives a unique insight into the lives of people who are often marginalised and undervalued; they have important stories to tell, experiences and talent that audiences need to hear and see.
Tickets cost £5 and are available online.
Can’t make it in person? Book a livestream ticket.

NCJAA Conference 2022: A new way of working – what does building back better look like for the arts in criminal justice?
2022-03-31 10:00 - 17:00 | Online
We are excited to announce the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) Conference 2022 will take place virtually on Thursday 31 March 2022 between 10:00 and 16:00. This event will be packed full of insightful sessions relating to the conference theme of What does building back better look like for the arts in criminal justice?

The last two years have been difficult for those working in the arts in criminal justice. But this hard time has also highlighted the extraordinary adaptability of creative individuals and organisations who have continued to support and inspire people in the criminal justice system, while responding to the pandemic and far reaching changes in criminal justice policy.
As we emerge from the pandemic and arts organisations move from survival to recovery mode, there is a critical need to learn from our experiences and share successful approaches to the ‘new normal’ that 2022 and beyond will bring.
With a day of keynote speakers, panel discussions and workshops, the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) welcomes everyone to attend and learn about how we can all best move forward together.

Conference Agenda
NCJAA Co-Chairs Anna Herrmann, (Clean Break), and Simon Ruding, (TiPP), will give an opening address before keynote speeches from Esther Thompson (One Small Thing) and Jennifer Walmsley (BearFace Theatre) on the importance of organisations embedding trauma-informed practices in their ways of working.
A panel discussion will focus on what building back better looks like from a range of different settings. Ralph Lubkowski, (Governor of HMP Hewell), will share his views on what best practice for arts provisions could be within prisons and Erika Flowers (Koestler award winning artist), will discuss fairer employment opportunities for freelancers with lived experience and independent artists working in the criminal justice system
Attendees are invited to join afternoon workshops facilitated by specialists who have developed better ways of working during the pandemic. This year, workshops will be led by In Focus Education and Development, Odd Arts, It’s Not Your Birthday But…, and Niki Gibbs.

Workshops
There are four workshops being delivered at our conference, with attendees able to select which two they would like to participate in when registering for the event:
Workshop 1: Online Delivery of the Bronze Arts Awards
Xavier Fiddes (In Focus Education and Development) will discuss how his creative organisation used technology to successfully deliver services during the pandemic; and how it can be used to support creative discovery with groups such as young people in the criminal justice system.
Workshop 2: Bringing Arts in Criminal Justice to a Wider Public Audience
Niki Gibbs (artist and NCJAA member) will explore ways we can bring arts within criminal justice into the public domain, using the Women’s Building on the former site of HMP Holloway as a case study.
Workshop 3: Isn’t That Risky?
Rebecca Friel (Odd Arts) will outline how her arts organisation responded to the crisis and how it shifted their understanding of risk. She will explore emotional versus rational decision making when making professional decisions and how we must all embrace risk in the future.
Workshop 4: Who has the power? Do we truly co-create in secure settings and how can we do it better?
Wendy Smithers (It’s Not Your Birthday But…) will be having an open conversation about what co-creation looks like in secure settings and how arts organisations working within the criminal justice system can better place the communities they serve at the heart of power.

Costs

Free

Programme

10:00 – 12:00
Welcome & Introductions
NCJAA Co-Chair Anna Hermann (Clean Break)

NCJAA Co-Chair Simon Ruding (Theatres in Prisons & Probation Centre)

Keynote Speakers
Esther Thompson (One Small Thing) & Jennifer Walmsley (BearFace Theatre)

Becoming Trauma-Informed – why is it important and how do we achieve it?

Panel Discussion & Q&A
Ralph Lubkowski (Governor HMP Hewell) & Erika Flowers (Koestler award winning artist)

Building Back Better in secure settings; Freelancer Advice; Fairer Employment Opportunities

12:00 – 13:00
Break

13:00 – 14:00
First Workshops
Xavier Fiddes (In Focus Education & Development) – how can we better use technology?

Niki Gibbs (Artist and NCJAA member) – how do we bring arts into the public domain?

14:00 – 14:30
Break

14:30 – 16:00
Second Workshops
Rebecca Friel (Odd Arts) – how do we now think about risk when making decisions?

Wendy Smithers (It’s Not Your Birthday But…) – power and how to co-create in art organisations?

Image Credit: Elijah Thompson

Anne Peaker Lecture 2022: The power of words
2022-01-19 16:00 - 18:00 | Online
19th January | 16:00-18:00 | online | free
“Words are things, I’m convinced… Someday we’ll be able to measure the power of words. I think they are things. I think they get on the walls, they get in your wallpaper, they get in your rugs, in your upholstery, in your clothes. And, finally, into you.” – Maya Angelou
The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance is excited to invite you to our annual Anne Peaker lecture.
Joining us in conversation will be Ashleigh Nugent, award winning author of LOCKS and Creative Director of Rise Up CIC; Lady Unchained, award winning broadcaster at Audio Production Awards 2021 and Creative Director of Unchained Poetry; and Akemia Minott, youth worker, activist and Managing Director of 84 YOUTH.
This year, our guests will be exploring the power of words; their power to move us, define us, build us up and tear us down, but most importantly, their ability to heal and to effect positive change.
Anne Peaker was a pioneer of arts for, and by, people in the criminal justice system. Our annual lecture honours her work and legacy, which forms the basis of the work we do today.
The event will also include performances and an audience Q&A.
Full programme details to follow.
The best virtual event I have attended – so engaging. The incredible co-creation element and putting lived experience at the heart of what you do. It’s just fantastic, and I feel really privileged to have been here today. I don’t want it to end! – Anne Peaker 2020 attendee

Image credit: Elijah Thompson

Arts in criminal justice network forum: access to prisons
2021-12-13 11:00 - 13:00 | Online
13th December | 11:00-13:00 | online | free The impacts of regime restrictions brought in under Covid-19 are still being felt in prisons and continue to cause widespread disruption to arts provision. Where practitioners have gained access, they are increasingly faced with additional challenges that impact their work.
At the forum, we will be joined by Good Vibrations Executive Director Katy Haigh and Only Connect CEO Simon Pellew sharing how they have approached issues of access to deliver projects in prisons during the Covid-19 pandemic. Also joining us will be Clean Break’s Joint Artistic Director, Anna Herrmann and Geese Theatre Company’s Artistic Director/CEO Andy Watson to lead discussion on some of the wider access and safeguarding issues practitioners are faced with.
There will also be opportunity for discussion – in particular, we’d like to hear your experiences around prison access to inform our policy influencing work and help us advocate on your behalf.
The arts and criminal justice network forum is a space for network-led discussion, and we welcome all arts-based organisations, freelancers and prison-based practitioners currently working in the criminal justice system.
The NCJAA will chair the conversation, but please note that this will be a network-led discussion. We particularly welcome arts in criminal justice freelancers, practitioners and anyone else seeking to connect with others in the sector to give and gain support.
Please register if you would like to attend. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing all information required to join the meeting, including a password.
We’re committed to making everything we do accessible to everyone. If you have any accessibility needs please let us know when you book and we’ll do our best to meet them.
If you have any questions about the meetings, please email info@artsincriminaljustice.org.uk. If you experience any issues with booking, please contact events@clinks.org.

Exhibition: Restricted views - creative outlooks
2021-12-01 - 2021-12-13 | Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
1st-13th December | Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool An innovative photography project by Novus learners from HMP Risley and HMP Thorn Cross is being showcased at Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery.
Titled Restricted Views – Creative Outlooks, the exhibition will display the programme of work created during the project, reflecting the photographic collaboration between artists Hafsah Naib and Simon Bray and Novus learners.
Combining the skills of socially engaged photographers with the life experiences of both learners within prison settings and their families, the programme explored how photography and creativity can be used as a tool for self-expression, to enhance family relationships, an as a way of learning new skills.
Image courtesy of Novus

Clinks annual conference and AGM 2021
2021-11-23 - 2021-11-25 | Online
23rd – 25th November | online | from free Bookings are now open for Clinks’ annual conference and AGM 2021: Building a better future. This year’s event takes place online over three days and is packed full of workshops, talks and panel discussions. You’ll have the chance to hear from key policy makers and voluntary sector leaders at a wide range of workshops covering topics including restorative justice, neurodiversity, changing perceptions of women with convictions and more. At the workshop ‘How to deliver creative projects online’, explore how Synergy Theatre has adapted its creative work with young people to an online delivery model, and gain new skills and ideas for adapting projects for online work.

Invisible Sentences from Uninterrupted Theatre
2021-11-20 19:30 - 21:30 | Brighton, United Kingdom
20th November | Brighton | £10 What happens when someone you love serves a prison sentence? Invisible Sentences is a new play based on real stories from women with loved ones in prison. The production is a project of Uninterrupted Theatre, a theatre collective formed during lockdown in 2020 that aims to create live theatre in response to current themes. Developed in partnership with women who have a family member serving a prison sentence, the play is based on verbatim accounts and is presented in partnership with Sussex Prisoners’ Families. The performance will be followed by a panel discussion with Q&A around the themes of the play.

Unchained Nights: poetry and music
2021-11-18 19:00 - 21:30 | London, London, United Kingdom
18th November | London | from £5 Poet Lady Unchained returns to host Unchained Nights in partnership with ArtsAdmin, featuring storytelling through music and poetry by artists with lived experience of the criminal justice system. The evening also sees the premiere of Lady Unchained’s upcoming film, and a preview of her spoken word project alongside Theatre31 with young people at HMP Cookham Wood. The event will be BSL interpreted.
Image courtesy of Artsadmin

Training: Working creatively with women in the criminal justice system
2021-11-15 - 2021-12-01 | Online
15th November – 1st December | online | £240, bursaries available This online course provides an insight into theatre company Clean Break’s work for theatre artists, group work practitioners and applied theatre students who are passionate about women’s experiences and interested in theatre practice in prisons, criminal justice, and community settings. Taking place over six three-hour sessions, the course will be led by Clean Break facilitators and artists; Clean Break Members (women with lived experience of the criminal justice system or risk of entering it) will also join and contribute their reflections. Through interactive exercises, group work and discussion, participants will consider best practice when working in women-only settings; learn ideas for facilitating workshops in criminal justice settings; and explore next steps in pursuing this field as a career.
Image courtesy of Clean Break, credit Tracey Anderson

Changing Tunes Annual Concert
2021-11-13 19:00 - 21:30 | Redland Church Hall, Redland Church Hall, Redland Green Road, Redland, BS6 7HE, United Kingdom
13th November | Bristol | free Changing Tunes is hosting its annual concert – an inspiring evening of music and insights from participants that Changing Tunes has worked with in prison and post-release. The event will showcase some of the first artists to be represented by Red Tangent Records – Changing Tunes’ new record label and artist development scheme for people who’ve been in the criminal justice system. The Manager of Red Tangent Records, who is also a Musician-in-Residence and former Changing Tunes participant, will introduce the label, which aims to nurture budding musicians who’ve been in prison or the youth justice system. The event will be livestreamed so you can join online or in person.
Image courtesy of Changing Tunes Midlands

My Old Man: new play from imagine if
2021-11-07 - 2021-12-02 | Various – UK, Various, United Kingdom
7th November – 2nd December | various UK venues | various ticket prices Theatre company imagine if’s latest production My Old Man follows the trials and tribulations of Michał, an old, blind, Polish soldier, in this funny and heartfelt production. A spin-off of imagine if’s 2019 production Jadek, which toured to theatres, prisons and community venues, the production explores themes of intergenerational relationships, post-traumatic stress disorder and family ties. When Michał Piwowarski’s granddaughter, Tasha, finally moves out, Michał’s whole world changes: the school dinner lady becomes his favourite person, a new neighbour moves onto the street and he has to face his biggest battle yet.
Image courtesy of Imagine If Theatre

‘The I and the We’: Koestler Arts annual exhibition
2021-10-29 - 2021-12-05 | Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
29th October – 5th December | London | free This year’s Koestler Arts UK exhibition is back in Level 1 of Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. Curated by artist Camille Walala and her sister, curator Sarah Ihler-Meyer, ‘The I and the We’ will showcase 200 pieces of art, music and writing from the 2021 Koestler Awards. Expect quirky artworks made of found materials, works full of humour and joy, as well as pieces reflecting on loss, relationships and prison life, all created during the pandemic. The exhibition will be presented to the public by ex-prisoner exhibition hosts who will lead tours and answer questions about the artwork and criminal justice system. Image courtesy of Koestler Trust

Art in prison: online panel from Ripon Museums
2021-09-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Online
23rd September | 7pm | online | £5 How can art benefit people in the criminal justice system? In this online panel from Ripon Museums, speakers will talk about using archival research to create art, their experiences of creative projects in prisons and the impact they can have on the people taking part.
The panel will include:

Jo Tapp, Arts Manager at Koestler Arts
Susanna Menis, Lecturer in Law at Birkbeck London University
Neil Dembry, Custodial Manager at Askham Grange in York

Arts in criminal justice forum: probation
2021-09-14 15:00 - 16:30
14th September | 15:00-16:30 | online | free Join the NCJAA for our first arts in criminal justice forum. This virtual event will bring together people involved in arts and criminal justice to look at creative activity in the context of probation.
Following the unification of the Probation Service in June, the forum will explore current challenges, achievements and opportunities for arts in probation. We will be joined by a variety of speakers to discuss their work in arts in probation and community settings, and look at how provision can work best for all, whether that’s service users, artists or probation staff.
You’ll hear from speakers including:

BearFace Theatre
TiPP
Clinks’ policy experts
Leeds Activity Hub

The arts and criminal justice forum series is a regular online event themed around important ideas and relevant developments in criminal justice. You’ll have the chance to hear from expert speakers in both practice and policy and meet others working in the field.

Is Anyone There? Outdoor theatre by prison leavers in Leeds
2021-08-28 - 2021-08-29 | The Holbeck, Jenkinson Lawn, Leeds, LS11 9QX
28th and 29th August | Leeds | pay what you decide The latest show from imagine if theatre company, Is Anyone There?, debuts over the August bank holiday. This open air performance will be devised by participants from imagine if’s new arts and rehabilitation programme, Phoenix, which works with prison leavers and people with convictions to support their development. Through arts and employability workshops, creative experimentation, and holistic mentoring, participants are encouraged to develop their ideas and build confidence. These techniques will be developed to produce a show for a public audience with the support of a full professional creative team.

Online information session with Geese Theatre Company
2021-06-24 11:00 - 13:00
24th June | 11am-1pm | online | £5 Geese Theatre Company is hosting monthly online information sessions for anyone who would like to know more about their work in theatre and criminal justice.
Theatre practitioners, artists, students, criminal justice and social welfare professionals are invited to join Geese to find out about their theatre-based groupwork, performances and work with masks.
Participants have the opportunity to:

Hear about the range of their work
Learn about their ethos and theoretical approach
See filmed examples
Ask their own questions

Image courtesy of Geese Theatre

NCJAA network hangout
2021-06-17 11:00 - 12:30
17th June | 11:00-12:30 | online | free Join the NCJAA and others working in arts and criminal justice for a virtual hang out. This is an opportunity for our network to come together to talk, share, and learn from each other during these challenging times.
The NCJAA will chair the conversation, but please note that this will be a network-led discussion. We particularly welcome arts in criminal justice freelancers, practitioners and anyone else seeking to connect with others in the sector to give and gain support.
Spaces are limited, so please register if you would like to attend. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing all information required to join the meeting, including a password.
We’re committed to making everything we do accessible to everyone. If you have any accessibility needs please let us know when you book and we’ll do our best to meet them.
If you have any issues registering or questions about the meetings, please email info@artsincriminaljustice.org.uk.

Applied Shakespeare in the Criminal Justice System
2021-06-09 14:10 - 14:50
9th June | 2:10-2:50pm | online | free Learn more about how Shakespeare is used in criminal justice settings around the world at this panel on the topic of International Networks and Communities: Applied Shakespeare in the Criminal Justice System. Dr Rowan Mackenzie (who spoke to us in 2019 about her experience of rehearsing and performing an adaptation of Macbeth in HMP Gartree in a blog which you can read here) will be joined in conversation with representatives from the Shakespeare in Prisons Network, Shakespeare Prison Project, Detroit Public Theatre and other institutions, including:

Stratis Panourios, Theatre and Cinema Director, Greece
Dr Jonathan Shailor, University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Director of Shakespeare Prison Project
Frannie Shepherd-Bates, Director of Shakespeare in Prison, Detroit Public Theatre
Michael Shortt, Alumni of Shakespeare Prison Project
Haisan Williams, Alumni of Shakespeare Prison Project

The conversation forms part of a three-day event to celebrate the launch of the Shakespeare Beyond Borders Alliance, a new initiative which brings together Shakespeare practitioners, directors, government representatives, scholars, and institutions with the aim of fostering dialogue, collaboration and mutual learning across national, social and disciplinary borders.
Image courtesy of Dr Rowan Mackenzie.

Launch event: Enabling creativity in a restricted regime
2021-06-08 14:30 - 16:00
8th June | 2.30-4pm | online | free Join us to launch our new guide, Creativity in a restricted regime: a guide for prison staff, at an event made possible by the Rothschild Foundation. We will be joined by speakers from voluntary and arts organisations and policy experts to hear their perspective on enabling creativity in prisons throughout Covid-19.
Over a challenging year, we have seen incredible resilience and creativity on the part of those working to provide ongoing Covid-19-safe arts provision in prisons. The guide, produced by the NCJAA on behalf of the Arts Forum, showcases examples of this work and includes guidance for prison staff on how to make creative activity possible throughout Covid-19 and beyond.
Speakers to be announced soon. There will be an opportunity for Q&A.
Image courtesy of Rideout. Credit: Paul Gent.

New exhibitions for summer 2021 from Koestler Arts
2021-05-17 - 2021-07-31
from 17th May | online As museums and galleries begin to reopen, Koestler Arts presents three new exhibitions of artwork by people in the criminal justice system. The exhibitions showcase drawings, paintings, sculpture, writing and music from around the country, chosen from over 6,500 artworks entered into the 2020 Koestler Awards.
Soul Journey to Truth, curated by performance artist and poet Lady Unchained, opens at Manchester’s HOME on 17th May as part of the Ripples of Hope Festival.
My Path, the first-ever Koestler Arts exhibition in Yorkshire, has been curated by a group of young people in partnership with Sheffield Youth Justice Service and will open at Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery on 20th May.
Power: Freedom to Create is a collaboration between Koestler Arts and the National Justice Museum and will showcase contemporary and historic artwork made in criminal justice settings alongside newly commissioned work by six artists and writers. Opening on 21st May, the exhibition’s theme of power and creativity was inspired by a soap sculpture from the museum’s collection, created by someone in prison, whose power to connect with viewers sparked the idea for the project.

Webinar: How Can Arts Practice Inform Policy Change?
2021-03-31 14:00 - 15:00
31st March | 2-3pm | online | free This webinar brings together artists, policy makers, and campaigning organisations to consider how arts practices can inform the recovery and transformation of the prison service during and beyond Covid-19.
Guests including NCJAA Co-Chair Simon Ruding and speakers from the Prison Reform Trust and Arts Council England will contribute to a panel discussion, which will be followed by a participatory discussion with attendees.
This webinar emerges from the Sounding Out project, a collaboration between the University of Reading, Rideout Creative Arts for Rehabilitation, and the Prison Reform Trust that explores how creative sound and audio practices might bring the voices of people in prison into policy making conversations.

The Creativity in Youth Justice Symposium
2021-03-18 13:00 - 16:00 | Online
18th March 2021
1pm-4pm
Online
Free The Creativity in Youth Justice Symposium is a chance for artist educators and youth justice workers to come together and discuss how creative practices can be used to engage and spark creativity in young people who are in the youth justice system in the UK. The event will also celebrate the successes and highlight some of the challenges that both sides face working in the sector, with access to resources, keynote speakers and focused workshops run by seasoned professionals in their field.
Special guest speaker to be announced soon.
Read a blog from event organiser Xavier Fiddes about the story behind the Symposium and the importance of creativity in youth justice here.

BROAD: Symposium exploring dance drama techniques in secure settings
2021-03-17 14:00 - 17:00
17th March | online | free Company Chameleon, Odd Arts and UCLAN’s Psychosocial Research Unit are inviting you to an afternoon symposium exploring the impact of BROAD, a dance drama programme delivered in secure environments.
At the symposium, Company Chameleon and Odd Arts will be delivering some of the content live for attendees to join in and experience the approaches that BROAD uses. Professor Lynn Froggett and Dr Hugh Ortega Breton of UCLAN will discuss some of the concepts they explored in their research into the project.

Disrupted Lives: #ChooseToChallenge Maternal Imprisonment
2021-03-11 18:00 - 19:15 | Online
11th March | online | free Join Birth Companions and Clean Break online for a special International Women’s Day event, Disrupted Lives: #ChooseToChallenge Maternal Imprisonment.
With performances from Clean Break’s plays and a panel discussion, the event will explore the issues relating to maternal imprisonment; champion women’s resilience through adversity; and open up conversations around how we can all help drive positive change.
The panel and performances will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions and discuss what we can all do now to challenge maternal imprisonment.

Ain't Nuff Time - Research Workshop for Criminal Justice Practitioners
2021-03-02 17:00 - 18:00 | Online
2nd March | online | free Theatre company Imagine If are inviting people working in the criminal justice system to a free online workshop to share their experiences, get creative, have fun, and help shape the script for their upcoming film.
The workshop is aimed at prison officers, Learning & Skills Managers, prison chaplains, prison arts teachers, governors, probation officers or anyone else who works in the criminal justice system. Imagine If will build on the experiences of participants in writing the script for a new film to be disseminated in prisons later this year, to ensure that the film is relatable, relevant and truthful.

The Arts of Punishment: Experiences of Injustice, Prison & Artistic Expression
2021-03-01 10:00 - 12:00
1st March | online | free The University of Warwick is hosting an interactive Q&A session focused on unpacking lessons from lived experiences of imprisonment and injustice. Organised as part of Warwick’s sociology course but open to all, it features panellists who have been impacted by criminal justice institutions, policies and rationales and have used creative expression to communicate and make sense of their experiences. Focusing on a number of enduring problems facing criminal justice, the panel will explore how to move towards challenging racism, inequalities and stigma in the context of criminal justice. The event is aimed at students of law, criminology, sociology, politics or anyone else interested in hearing from first-hand accounts of prison, justice and marginalisation.
Panellists include spoken word artist Jason Smith; poet and NCJAA Steering Group member Brenda Birungi a.k.a. Lady Unchained; and Safe Ground’s Executive Director Charlotte Weinberg.
Image credit: Still from The Forgotten People by Lady Unchained and Tracy Kiryango
