National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance

Arts tutor seminar for visual arts tutors
2016-09-15 09:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London)
Each year the Koestler Trust run an Arts Tutor Seminar for Visual Art Tutors working within prisons. This year’s seminar will take place on the morning of our Exhibition’s public opening on Thursday 15th September at the Southbank Centre. The Seminar will provide delegates with a valuable opportunity to network and learn from each other, share best practice and update on current issues in the field, guest speakers will also be in attendance. If you would like to attend please email smatheve@koestlertrust.org.uk for more information.

BARRED: a new play by Dean Stalham
2016-09-15 09:00 - 2016-09-16 17:00
Barred, a new play by Dean Stalham will be taking place at the Brady Arts Centre in London on 15th and 16th September.
For more information, please email carlotta@stretch-charity.org

We are all human: a Koestler Trust exhibition at the Southbank Centre
2016-09-15 10:00 - 2016-11-13 17:00
‘We are all human’ is the UK’s annual national showcase of arts by prisoners, ex-offenders on community sentences, secure psychiatric patients and immigration detainees. It is the ninth exhibition in an ongoing partnership between the Koestler Trust and Southbank Centre.
This year’s show was curated by writer and dub-poet Benjamin Zephaniah. The exhibition features a wide range of artforms including painting, drawing, matchstick modelling, craft, music and writing, exploring themes of time, contemplation and the natural environment.
Click here for more information

Prisoner Learning Alliance Conference and Awards 2016
2016-09-16 09:00 - 17:00
This year’s Prisoner Learning Alliance (PLA) conference will explore the changing policy environment through a range of speakers including a Governor of one of the new ‘reform prisons.’ Delegates will have the chance to discuss the challenges and opportunities these policy changes may bring and there will be a focus on sharing good practice on ‘personalised and peer-enabled approaches.’ Achievements of teachers, officers and peer mentors will be celebrated in the annual award ceremony, and there will be a chance to hear from former learners and other experts on how we should be measuring the wide-ranging impact of prison education and how the PLA’s new ‘Theory of Change’ evaluation framework can help.
Click here for more information
When? 16th September 2016
Where? Cardiff, Wales
How much? Free

Fundraising dinner hosted by Rory Bremner
2016-09-28 18:00 - 22:00
This fundraising event is a unique performance experience and dinner hosted by Rory Bremner, at Central st Martins, at 6pm on 28th September in aid of the Centre for Peaceful Solutions.
The organisation has been given the go ahead for a transformative project in Dartmoor Prison, for which they need to raise £240,000.
To kick this off they are hosting an evening of Live Mediation Theatre on Wednesday 28th September, with Rory Bremner and delicious food kindly provided by Ottolenghi, all at Central Saint Martins in London.
Experience their work and help them to make real, lasting changes, both in the lives of the prisoners they work with and in a wider sense to society, as they address some of the root causes of violence and ‘criminal’ behaviour.
“When I get out in 3 years’ time, I will not go back to my old life. I intend to start a new life with no criminal ties at all. I would like to be part of Peaceful Solutions’ work because you reached me in a way that I now know is the remedy” – Paul
Their intention is to create a culture change on the inside which translates into self responsibility on release so that violence in society is reduced and therefore the number of victims.
Details or the evening:
At 6pm Rory Bremner will kick off this informative and exciting evening, consisting of:

Performances by award-winning Chickenshed among others.
Live Unscripted Mediation Theatre with guest star actors to be announced.
Vegetarian family style meal provided by Yotam Ottolenghi.
Speech by Bridie Oakes-Richards, Governor, HM Prison Dartmoor.
Auction of music and toy boxes made exclusively for this event by Dartmoor prisoners and decorated by reputable artists.
‘Sneak Preview’ exhibition of prison photographs by Royal Photographer Hugo Burnand.

The evening will close at 10pm.
Tickets:
Tickets can be purchased for £125 each, or tables of 10 can be purchased for £1000. The cost includes the theatre show and all food and beverage.
Venue:

Central Saint Martins
Granary Building
1 Granary Square
King’s Cross
London, N1C 4AA
Event Enquiries:

Tel: 020 8453 0086 / 07764132456 enquiries@centreforpeacefulsolutions.org

Arts, culture and innovation in criminal justice settings: improving outcomes in a new policy landscape
2016-10-05 10:00 - 16:00
On 5th October 2016 we will be holding our annual conference in York at HMP Askham Grange.
The conference will launch a unique guide to commissioning arts projects in criminal justice settings in response to the Coates Review into prison education and Culture White Paper. The conference and publication will highlight the unique role of the arts in supporting rehabilitation, including promoting safe and secure prisons and improving outcomes for offenders across the prison estate and in the community. It will provide evidence and best practice case studies to inspire governors, commissioners and practitioners in a new reform environment.
Breakout sessions will explore collaborations between criminal justice settings and arts organisations, building on the evidence of success, fostering rehabilitative cultures and using the arts to increase inclusivity and engagement. The event will include contributions from the Ministry of Justice and Arts Council England as well as leading arts organisations, universities and prison governors.
Speakers include:

Mags Patten, Nation Director of Communication (Arts Council England)
Simon Marshall, Head of Co-Commissioning and Programme Director, Education and Employment Reform Commissioning Group
Graham Beck, Governor of HMP Kirkham.

Workshops include:

Improving wellbeing for those most at risk of self-harm and suicide in a prison setting (Geese Theatre Company and Safer Custody teams)
‘Singing the blues’ – music and emotion: how art can be used effectively in a therapy setting (Phoene Cave, HMP and YOI Bronzefield)
Improving outcomes and evidence in arts and criminal justice settings: building the evidence base (Sarah French, Justice Data Lab)
Digital arts in criminal justice settings: exploring the perceived barriers and outcomes for offenders (Stretch and HMP Leeds)
Make Right: using design thinking in prison industry textile workshops to build empathy and design skills (University of the Arts London and HMP Thameside)

The cost of attending the event is £60 per person.
To book a place, please click here.

The Art of Recovery
2016-10-07 - 2016-10-14
Following on from the success of the last two annual Art of Recovery events, the competition is now open to anyone in or working towards recovery across West Yorkshire. The showcase event will feature local judges, food, music and ultimately a celebration of creativity. The exhibition is open to the public, professionals, families and friends of all of the entrants. Click here for more information.
When? 7th – 14th October 2016
Where? Corn Exchange, Leeds

Changing Tunes Annual Concert
2016-10-15 19:30 - 22:00
Join Changing Tunes in Bristol for an evening of musical performances from people they have worked with in prison, and get the chance to hear them talk about their journeys. With performances supported by their Musicians in Residence, there will be a mixture of original songs and covers. Click here for more information.
When? 15th October 2016, 7.30pm
Where? Woodlands Christian Centre, Woodlands Road, Bristol, BS8 2AA

Moving (swiftly) on... Why should anyone care about arts in prisons?
2016-10-22 15:00 - 17:00
Are the arts a luxury or do they actually make a difference? Join artists, prison arts practitioners and academics for a discussion about whether and how the arts really move people. Speakers include Sarah Colvin and Preti Taneja (School of Arts and Humanities, Cambridge), Anna Herrmann (Clean Break), Andy Watson (Geese Theatre Company), Alex Wheatle (writer), Andrew Wilkie (National Prison Radio), and Loraine Gelsthorpe (Professor of Criminology, Cambridge). An audience discussion will be chaired by Alison Frater (National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance). The event is part of the University of Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas.
Venue: Jesus College, University of Cambridge
Click here for more information and to book.
Image (c) Geese Theatre Company

Intermission Youth Theatre's 'Love me to Death'
2016-10-26 - 2016-11-19
Two boroughs both alike in poverty,
South and east where we tell our story.
From past issues up to present gang wars
Evading the laws to kill without cause.
Then he saw her, it was love at first sight,
She caught a glimpse and was like,
he’s alright!
But she’s from E8 and he’s from Southeast,
And they got bare beef so that means no peace.
But these two lovers were prepared to fight,
And tread the fearful tight rope of their plight.
Despite the backlash of the hood enraged,
This passion was one lion they could not cage.
Engage, and with patient ears tell others
That our stage is full of Shakespeare’s Lovers.
See Intermission Youth Theatre’s ‘Love me to Death’ (inspired by Romeo and Juliet) from 26th October – 19th November in London.
Click here to book tickets

Listening event: arts in criminal justice settings
2016-11-10 13:00 - 16:00
We are holding a ‘listening event’ on 10th November (1 – 4pm) in Birmingham to bring together people working in arts and criminal justice settings across the West Midlands to talk about current policy and challenges as well as good practice.
The session will be an informal event for participants to raise any concerns about the current policy or practice landscape whilst sharing experience, knowledge and skills with others. It will also enable us to find out more about the issues affecting our members right now and what we can do to better support you.
The event will be led by NCJAA Chair Alison Frater, NCJAA Manager Jessica Plant, and NCJAA Steering Group member and Artistic Director of Geese Theatre Company, Andy Watson. This is a free event open to members, artists, prison staff and community rehabilitation companies, health providers, academics and other interested parties.
To book a place please click here
Image courtesy of Dance United

Staging rehabilitation: a Clean Break and Geese Theatre Company masterclass
2016-11-11
This masterclass is for both theatre artists and criminal justice professionals interested in the specialised field of arts in the Criminal Justice System. The day will be an introduction to the work of two organisations in the field. Participants will learn about their different working practices, understand the principles and theory underpinning their work, and explore best practice in the field. The day will be participatory, and will involve drama and theatre exercises, group work, discussion and a plenary session at the end.
Click here for more information.

Inside Prison Radio: development day
2016-11-16 10:00 - 17:00
The Prison Radio Association’s annual development day, Inside Prison Radio 2016, will be taking place on Wednesday 16th November at the Southbank Centre in London. Early bird tickets are currently on sale at a price of £50 (including VAT).
This event is for anyone who’s interested in the power of prison radio to change lives. This year they will be sharing thoughts and ideas about how to use radio to tell great stories that resonate with the prisoner audience.
Click here for more information

Celebrating 21 years of music in prisons and beyond
2016-11-22 18:00 - 22:00
The Irene Taylor Trust is celebrating 21 years of its work in prisons (Music in Prisons) and now also in the community with ex-prisoners (Sounding Out) and young people in challenging circumstances (Making Tracks) with an exciting and eclectic evening of live music at London’s Union Chapel on 22nd November 2016.
The evening will feature performances from Sounding Out ex-prisoner band Platform 7 and Making Tracks participants, alongside special guests including Mercury Prize winner Speech Debelle, and Chaps Choir singing Music in Prisons songs, hosted by Guardian journalist Tim Dowling.
The centrepiece of the celebration is a new piece of music and film, Bridges; the music was created by participants from Music in Prisons, Sounding Out and Making Tracks in collaboration with contemporary composer Mark-Anthony Turnage; the accompanying film by artist Lizzie Coombes and filmmaker Andy Wood captures the three groups during the creative process. Mark-Anthony Turnage has also re-orchestrated Bridges for a world exclusive one-off live performance by an ensemble of Royal Academy of Music musicians that is not to be missed.
Full details about the evening and how to book tickets are here; http://bit.ly/ITTunionc
Image courtesy of the Irene Taylor Trust

Shutter stories: prison life through the lens
2016-12-07 18:00 - 21:00
The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance’s annual Anne Peaker lecture will focus this year on the use of photography and film in criminal justice settings, looking at how different media can reveal life behind prison doors, and how film and photography can be powerful tools for sharing stories.
The event, happening on 7th December (6.30 – 9pm) will see artist and photographer Edmund Clark share his experience of being the Artist in Residence at HMP Grendon, and how working in the prison has influenced his creative practice.
Edmund’s lecture will be followed by a panel discussion looking at questions surrounding the use of media in criminal justice settings:

How can film and photography change public perception about life in prison?
How can we use film and photography to enable prisoners to share their voices – and can this help them on their desistance journey?

The panel will include:

Edmund Clark, artist and Artist in Residence at HMP Grendon
Rashmi Becker, PhD student at the University of Cambridge working on a photobook of people with learning disabilities in the Criminal Justice System
Carlotta Allum, founder and director of Stretch Charity
Raheel Mohammed, founder and director of Maslaha

Click here to book your place

Beating the Odds: celebrating the value of participatory arts for young people
2016-12-16 18:00 - 21:30
This event is a festive evening of performance, exhibition and research celebrating the value of participatory arts for young people to be held at the refurbished Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts. The event will celebrate work by various creative arts organisations working with researchers from the interdisciplinary Centre for Research in Creative and Performing Arts and the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth at the University of Sussex. The evening will include a creative mix of performance by Glyndebourne Youth Opera and the Miss Represented project at the Brighton Dome, and an exhibition of young people’s art from other groups. There will also be information available about relevant research as well as a panel discussion.
The event is free, but booking is essential.
Click here for more information.

Beyond the Door: the Koestler exhibition for the West Midlands
2017-01-13 09:00 - 2017-03-26 21:45
Beyond the Door is an exhibition of artwork, writing and music from prisons,
secure hospitals, and by people on community sentences in the West Midlands.
The work on display has been selected by Walsall Youth Justice Service from entries to the 2016 Koestler Awards, an annual scheme that has been rewarding
artistic achievement in the criminal justice and secure sectors for over 50 years.
The exhibition is at mac birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, from 13th January – 26th March 2017. Open daily 9am – 9.45pm (free entry).

Free ten-week acting course for ex-prisoners
2017-01-25 13:00 - 2017-04-05 15:30
Synergy Studio is offering a free ten-week introduction to acting course for ex-prisoners starting in January. Participants will learn techniques used by professional actors and explore them in fun, practical sessions, leading to a short performance for an invited audience. This course is accredited and provides opportunities for further progression in acting. No previous experience is required, just a commitment and a willingness to join in. The course will run every Wednesday from 1 – 3.30pm.
For more information, please contact denise@synergytheatreproject.co.uk or call 0203 668 6730.
The deadline for applications is 13th January 2017.

Inside Peace documentary screening
2017-01-28 15:00 - 18:00
Inside Peace follows a group of inmates doing time in a Texas prison as they embark on a journey of personal discovery while struggling with society’s roadblocks and dangers. The documentary features the Peace Education Program (PEP) which teaches people to get in touch with themselves and their inner resources and has proved very effective in some of the toughest maximum security prisons in the US & South Africa. In the UK, the programme has been running at HMP Thameside for over a year with very positive feedback from attendees and prison staff. Several other UK prisons are in the early stages of providing the PEP, as well as various community groups and organisations catering for veterans also use it.
This screening will take place at the Mayfair Hotel, Stratton Street, London, W1J 8LT. Tickets are £20, and early booking is advised.
Click here for more information.

Homecomings: Synergy's festival of new plays by ex-prisoners
2017-02-21 - 2017-03-14
Homecomings features premières of two new plays of addicts heading home to the people, places and things that landed them in trouble. These headline a month of plays, talks and readings.
GLORY WHISPERS
By Sonya Hale
Directed by Juliet Knight
21 February – 4 March
An unexpected reunion with Glory brings hope to Mina. If she can stay clean and Glory can bring up a kid then maybe even mad Jonno can fix up and they can be a family again. But sacrifices, secrets and survival can get in the way of your dreams.
THE MONKEY
By John Stanley
Directed by Russell Bolam
7 to 18 March
Tel’s left Bermondsey behind and only robs the occasional drum now. He prefers dealing in moody clobber from Deptford. But he’s got a screw loose and word’s out he’s a soft touch. Thick-Al owes him a monkey and he has to revisit old hunting grounds to collect.
REHEARSED READING: The Political History of Smack and Crack by Ed Jones
27 February 7.45pm, Pay What You Can
PRE-SHOW TALKS:
OLD HABITS DIE HARD: Does going home after prison jeopardise recovery?
28 February 6.30pm, free with a show ticket
REWRITING JUSTICE: Finding, developing and producing voices emerging from prison
14 March 6.30pm, free with a show ticket
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Tickets £15/£12 or see both plays for £20 using promotional code Synergy. Book online for Glory Whispers and The Monkey or call Box Office on 020 7978 7040.

NCJAA Annual Meeting: a new narrative
2017-03-01
A new narrative: the impact of creative writing on people with experience of the Criminal Justice System
The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance’s Annual Meeting is an opportunity for our members and others working in the arts and criminal justice sector to come together, share good practice and experience some powerful and inspiring creative work.
This year, the meeting will also look at the impact creative writing, such as poetry, script writing and fiction, has on the lives of people who have had experience of the Criminal Justice System.
A range of performances and readings, followed by a panel discussion, will explore the power of storytelling from those with experience. The event will highlight how writing has initiated personal change and how creative work is shaped by experience.
Date: 1st March 2017
Time: 2 – 6pm
Location: London
Cost: Free
Click here to book

New Open Clasp production celebrates International Women's Day 2017
2017-03-07 - 2017-03-17
Open Clasp’s new production Sugar will be previewed over two weeks for International Women’s Day 2017. This is an exciting opportunity to see the play in the first stage of development. The play exposes the routes into prison, life behind bars, and the revolving door that catapults women back. It has been devised with women in HMP Low Newton, Women’s Direct Access Homelessness Service and women on probation attending a Women’s Hub through Changing Lives at West End Women & Girls Centre. The play will travel to three venues in Newcastle and one in Manchester.
Click here for more information.

The Other Side of the Wall - Geese Theatre Company training
2017-03-22 08:00 - 2017-04-28 17:00
Run by Geese Theatre Company, the Other Side of the Wall is a three-day course on the use of theatre and drama with offenders and young people at risk of offending. Participants will experience and practice a variety of drama-based methods for use in group work, while exploring some of the basic principles behind Geese’s work.
The course is limited to 10 participants. No previous drama or theatre experience is necessary; however a willingness to actively explore new methods of working is an essential requirement.
The next courses will be happening from 22nd – 24th March 2017 in Birmingham, and 26th – 28th April 2017 in Edinburgh.
Click here for more information on the course.
The cost of each course is £330 per person. For a booking form, please email rosie@geese.co.uk, and specify which location you’re interested in.
Image courtesy of Geese Theatre Company

Open Clasp Theatre's Key Change at Battersea Arts Centre
2017-04-06 08:00 - 17:00
Open Clasp Theatre Company’s play Key Change is at the Battersea Arts Centre from 10th – 19th April. Originally devised by women in HMP Low Newton to tell their stories to male prisoners, the play has gone on to win the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award 2015, and was awarded the prestigious New York Times Critics’ Pick in 2016.
Click here for more information

Free four week radio drama project for ex-prisoners
2017-04-12 08:00 - 17:00
Synergy Studio is offering a free four week radio drama project for ex-prisoners starting this May. Taking inspiration from the V&A’s major exhibition on Pink Floyd, participants will learn how to write a short drama for radio. Each participant will get to record their drama in a professional radio production studio. No previous experience is necessary, just a commitment and a willingness to give it a try. The course starts on 18th May and runs in London every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon until 15th June 2017.
The deadline to apply is Friday 12th May.
For more information or to book a place, email info@synergytheatreproject.co.uk.

Cultural funding in England
2017-04-27
This seminar from the Westminster Media Forum will focus on cultural funding in England: the new financial landscape, diversifying income streams and policy priorities. It will examine next steps for tackling the funding challenges facing the cultural sector in England, and the latest progress in implementing proposals set out in the Culture White Paper. Sessions will consider the way forward for securing a fair balance of public investment across England and promoting effective financial governance within the sector, with particular focus on mitigating the impact of further predicted reductions to local authority, grant-in-aid and lottery funding to support a sustainable and competitive sector moving forwards.
The event is taking place on 27th April 2017 in central London, with cost ranging from £80 – £210.
Click here for more information.

David Goldblatt: 'Ex-offenders at the Scene of the Crime'
2017-05-22 18:00 - 19:30
On 22nd May, 6 – 7.30pm, join photographer David Goldblatt at the Town Hall in West Bromwich, where he will talk about his project – which was run in partnership with Multistory – ‘Ex-offenders at the scene of the crime.’
David Goldblatt was born in South Africa and has been a photographer since 1963. Over the years he has done a number of photographic essays examining aspects of South African society. His present concern is with crime which, in numerous ways, has become an overwhelmingly important part of life. David is not a social worker or a journalist; he seeks to make photographs and tell life stories that might deepen our understanding of people and circumstances – to see people who have committed crimes not as the sudden forces and threats that many have experienced, nor as names in news reports, but as individuals.
Click here to read more and to book your free place
Photo (c) David Goldblatt

Next steps for youth justice reform - education, rehabilitation and the Youth Court
2017-05-30 08:00 - 17:00
This Westminster Legal Policy Forum event will consider options for policy following the response to Charlie Taylor’s ‘Review of the Youth Justice System,’ which set out proposals to review governance frameworks and establish two new pilot secure schools. Sessions will focus on what more can be done to improve the outcomes of young offenders, with discussion on the commissioning of education and health in custody, the future role of custodial staff in rehabilitation, as well as the anticipated impact of the secure schools pilot on custodial provision in the youth estate.
When? 11th July 2017
Where? London
How much? £210 + VAT
Click here for more information.

Women, theatre and criminal justice: international perspectives and practices
2017-06-05
This day-long symposium is an invitation to artists, academics, policy makers and professionals working in criminal justice and women’s services to consider the distinctiveness of theatre practices that engage directly with women affected by the criminal justice system. Led by Clean Break and Queen Mary’s University, delegates will have the chance to hear artists and academics from Australia, South Africa and the UK talk about their practice and the socio-political conditions that shape it. Additionally, the day offers an opportunity to develop research questions to inform the development of an international network addressing issues of women, theatre and criminal justice.
5th June 2017, London
FREE
Click here to book tickets.

Reading in Prison Day
2017-06-09
Prison Reading Groups’ are holding their annual ‘reading in prison day’ at the University of Roehampton on 9th June, with key themes including: putting the library at the heart of the prison, reading and families, and ‘why read?’ The event is for prison governors, librarians and volunteers, authors, ex-prisoners and representatives of education and literacy organisations. It is free and includes lunch and refreshments.
Click here for more information.
