Art through prison bars

Yesterday we attended the opening of Art by Offenders: Secure Patients and Detainees, the 2010 Koestler Awards exhibition. With a panel of curators wholly made up of victims of crime, the 2010 exhibition has an interesting twist to previous years, echoing the move to restorative justice across the sector. The commitment to arts was reiterated by MP Crispin Blunt in his opening speech where he also confirmed the government’s continuing support of the role of the arts in the Criminal Justice sector.

A presentation by the seven curators explored their various reasons for selecting the exhibited work, ranging from personal associations to an appreciation of the aesthetic and technical value of the pieces. Mirroring this, two award winning ex-offender artists spoke about what having their work recognised publicly meant to them.

For both the curators and the artists on the panel, the process of selection or creation of the work formed a key role in overcoming various issues. One curator commented “I came to realise although my family were victims of crime, these people [prisoners] are also victims of society.”

Rebecca who recently graduated with a BTEC in Media Production from The Media House, HMP Downview won the Roger Graef Platinum Award for her film Stuck in the System. She reiterated the importance of gaining education and qualifications whilst in prison and the positive difference that being involved in a project made to how she felt about life after prison.

The Inside Job Production Training Scheme works with offenders nearing the end of their sentence who join the company on day release for a period of four months. The scheme aims to provide valuable confidence and life skills enabling trainees to more effectively bridge the gap between release and rehabilitation.  At IJP, the process that we see our trainees go through from the beginning to the end of their placements is one that has a profound affect, both on their self esteem and perception, and their determination and attitude towards rehabilitation.  

Ann Summerhayes & Louise Brown, IJP

To view a short film of a day in the life of one of IJP's production trainees, click here

Can Social Enterprises deliver to the public sector?

IJP featured as example of best practice in Social Enterprise delivery to public sector services

IJP has been hailed as one of the organisations that successfully works as a Social Enterprise to deliver services to the criminal justice sector. With more focus on delivering efficiencies and increasing the social impacts of public sector services, IJP's latest film for the NTA is a strong example of how innovative social enterprise solutions can play an important part in the Big Society concept highlighted by Crispin Blunt:

'As part of the 'Big Society' we want to encourage charities and social enterprise groups as well as the private sector to apply their enthusiasm and expertise to turning around more and more lives and preventing future victims.'

To read the full article click here

Addressing stereotypes

Last week we visited the Hot Tap Theatre to see the latest play from Dean Stalham, an ex-offender with a fascinating life story who has used his experience before and during his time in prison to inspire writing that has been showcased at The Union, The ICA, The Hen and Chickens and the Orange Tree.

His latest work, God Don’t Live on a Council Estate, plays on largely autobiographical themes and features the harrowing tale of Danny Boy, a man who has lost his wife to suicide and is increasingly confused by the circumstances leading up to it.  Returning after an extended break abroad he visits his grandfather (Dudley Sutton), a notorious rogue whose tyrannical presence is felt and known throughout the estate in which he lives and from whom he feels pressure to continue the corrupt line of command. As the story unravels, we become aware of the complicated circumstances that have led to the strange dynamic between Danny Boy, his late wife and his best friend. A web of manipulation, sexual abuse and struggle for power unfolds and Danny is left to face the devastating truth about the past.

The play is interesting in both its clever interweaving of the multiple themes that are so prevalent across the criminal justice system and in the refreshing accuracy with which the acting portrays those themes. We know through our own experience of the IJP Production Training Scheme that these issues are common when working with service users across the sector, and Stalham’s depiction of them is yet another striking example of how the media can be used to demonstrate, educate and communicate in a way that is not possible via traditional means.

The new community interest company that Stalham has established, Art Saves Lives, is dedicated to finding space for and giving a platform to any artist, writer or musician that is for whatever reason marginalised by society. With the aim of raising awareness of the talents and passions for the arts that exist from within the margins, the company works to break down doors and disseminate stereotypes. For anyone not already exposed to the issues raised in God Don’t Live on a Council Estate, it is impactful enough to do just that -making the audience question the standard assumptions about a very specific world by representing it from an insider's point of view.  When overcoming stereotypes, illustrating the general through the specific is a powerful and effective tool and at IJP we firmly believe that media, whether it's film, theatre or otherwise, has the capacity to do this in groundbreaking ways.

Louise Brown, Inside Job Productions

The IJP Production Training Scheme is designed for offenders nearing the end of their sentence, providing valuable work experience in an engaging media environment.  The scheme helps to re-engage trainees with the work environment and build vital confidence skills,  aiding the difficult transition from release to resettlement.

Participatory digital development – my start at Media For Development

Although I've only been at Media for Development for a week, I can already see the potential for digital innovation to boost MFD's mission. I hope that a mashup of my background in web & social change and Media for Development's experience of participatory media will produce some pioneering ways to empower marginalised communities. So here's a snapshot of my thinking about where to go and how to get there.

My starting point is the way Media for Development uses participatory media to help transform people's lives. As a digital guy, this seems to me like a good match for the 'maker' meme - people participating in building their own stuff and their own solutions to problems. To my mind, a good starting point for MFD digital projects would be co-creation and the kind of co-design promoted by @thinkpublic and @wearesnook. This can by carried through the technical side of digital projects by appropriating agile development - the tech project methodology that iterates in small stages, keeping the project close to the users and allowing it to adapt as new issues and opportunities emerge.

At the other end, the digital scene is a wellspring of questions about impact and ROI, as embodied by Measurement Camp. The visibilising of social connections that's embedded in the social web makes social network analysis a way in to measuring impact, especially around ideas of social capital. And I expect Social Return On Investment (SROI) will be a useful way to pin numbers to our projects in a way that aligns with MFD's values. Of course, the most powerful way to convey impact is to hear from people themselves and MFD is already expert in the power of narrative.

One of the biggest challenges that faces MFD or anyone trying to build peer to peer support is the investment of time and resources it can take to get self-generating momentum in an online community. My first ideas about tactics is to start with stuff that's simple and useful, and can be applied immediately in people's lives. There were some good examples of this at Jailbrake an event that applied the Social Innovation Camp approach to making web & mobile services for young people caught up in the criminal justice system. For example, we heard that even a simple text reminder at the right moment can make a difference by helping someone with a fairly chaotic lifestyle make it to their probation appointments.

As one of the founders of Social Innovation Camp, I'd say its approach has a natural fit with media for Development and I'm expecting to draw a lot on @sicamp contacts and experience as I go forward with projects here, including the aim of making enterprises not just projects i.e. innovations that can find a way to be sustainable instead of petering out when the initial funding fades away.

But no statement about strategy would be compete without a 2 by 2 matrix :) so here's mine for MFD-Digital: with communities along one axis and digital along the other, we start with the communities that MFD knows well (e.g. people with experience of prison) and the tech that has already been successful (like the online community of Savvy Chavvy. Innovation on the communities axis means new hard to reach groups, and MFD already has plans to work with military veterans, and with young dad's who are in danger of being excluded from parenthood. Innovation on the digital axis has some straightforward starting points, like mobile and mapping: i've been inspired by the potential of open street mapping to catalyse community mobilisation, and i've already met with frontlinesms to look at ways that toolset can help overcome the digital divide here in the UK. In the future we may convene sicamp / crisis camp style events to catalyse unexpected digital innovations.

At the end of the day, though, it's not about tech but about the potential of digital to enable transformation; a change in people's lives and ultimately in themselves. And, perhaps, in those of us doing this work. I look forward to reporting irregularly on this journey.

Dan McQuillan joins MFD as Head of Digital

Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train

Having been lucky enough to score tickets to 'Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train's matinee show at Trafalgar Studios, a couple of us from IJP got the opportunity to be treated to a wonderful theatrical experience.   The production, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and brought to life by Synergy Theatre Projects, was expertly performed under the direction of Esther Baker and a team of fine actors – some of whom were ex-offenders.

The prison drama explored the lives of two prisoners – Lucius & Angel - as they battled with their conscience, the crimes committed, and the possibilities of salvaging their souls through faith in God. The show throws open the doors to questions surrounding the criminal justice system and its failures, as well as the internal battle that rages in prisoners, lawyers and prison staff as they interact with each other and the system. Overall, the performances were phenomenal with dialogues tailored to make one laugh out loud and reflect at the same time.

More importantly, taking a step back from the plot and the hard-hitting dialogues, the show reinforces the value that artistic approaches can have in giving life to serious and often dry topics such as rehabilitation and the criminal justice system prompting dialogue amongst audiences and ex-offenders. And it can have consequences beyond the stage. One of the main aims of the Synergy Theatre Projects is to work with ex-offenders and turn them into exceptional actors, so they are providing prisoners with a way to ease back into life outside prison thus potentially contributing to a reduction in re-offending rates. IJP has a similar scheme where we train offenders & ex-offenders interested in the production aspects of film-making as well as equipping them with the skills required to confidently move forward.

Communication via creative avenues such as film and theatre creates opportunities not only to entertain, but also to inspire educate and question – in this case, it gave voice to the lives, thoughts and battles of all those interacting with the criminal justice system in different capacities. Anyone else seen great examples of the use of creative mediums that prompt discussions about the criminal justice system?

Vineetha A. George, Marketing Assistant, Inside Job Productions

Jailbrake

A few months ago NESTA and the people at Social Innovation Camp launched the Jailbreak challenge. They wanted to know if simple web and mobile tools that we use everyday could be used to divert young people from the criminal justice system and break the cycle of reoffending.

At Media for Development we are always thinking about what makes ‘good’ communication; this isn’t just what font to use on a poster or how long your mailing list is, its about creating tools and campaigns that can empower and mobilise people by providing effective and relevant information. One problem that had us scratching our heads is the disconnect between young people and local services; on the one hand you have young people saying there is no support offered when they are in trouble and on the other you have brilliant local services with dedicated staff saying that young people don’t come to them for help when then need it. What could we use to overcome this problem?

We’ve done a lot of work with young people and have to spend a long time convincing them to turn off their mobile phones. That got us thinking. There are surveys that show young people would rather go without new clothes than give up their mobiles. Scare stories that the shape of their thumbs are changing because they text so much… could we take this love of mobiles and somehow use it to connect young people and local services?

That's how the idea for Lost and Found was born! – an SMS service that would enable young people to locate local services relevant to the issues they face. All they need to do is text help, select the issue they are facing e.g. drugs and alcohol and, and with a little technical magic, they would get a text back telling them where to go locally to get help.

We submitted the idea to Jailbrake and they decided it would be one of six ideas that would be developed over the course of the Jailbreak weekend. Working with other social entrepreneurs, criminal justice practitioners and technical boffins we would have 48 hours to make a working model!

Saturday 9am sharp, we were off. Our team, fuelled by croissants and strong coffee began brainstorming all the features Lost and Found could have, while the technical folk told us whether it was possible to do. This way of working was brilliant: called Agile Design by those in the know, it basically means that you get everyone – stakeholders, designers, practitioners – together in one room and talk about what you what to achieve, then the designers work out how to make it happen and set about building a prototype.

By the next day, bleary eyed but very excited, we had a working text message system! I could send a text from my phone asking about a particular problem and a few seconds later a text came back telling where the nearest, open support service was including a map, telephone number and short description. This was great. Imagine a young person who is having problems with alcohol; they know they need help but don’t know where to find it. They don’t want to use the internet because they are embarrassed and their computer is shared with brothers, sisters and parents. Within a couple of minutes and no more that three texts, they can get the information they need, only using their own private mobile phone.

We demonstrated Lost in Found in front of a judging panel including representative from the Youth Justice Board and the Prison Reform Trust. The moment of truth came when we got the entire room (well the ones we could get off Twitter for a few seconds) to text ‘help’ to Lost and Found and get information back… a few seconds of deathly silence… followed by beeps and chirps all over the room as the system began to work!

We were absolutely elated as the weekend ended. We had proved that Lost and Found could work and the judging panel agreed, awarding us second place over all. Although the weekend is finished, Lost and Found is not.  We are now thinking about how to scale it up and roll it out so young people can access the support they need, wherever and whenever.    

Christy McAleese works as Office Manager for IJP and project manager at Media for Development.   

IJP’s income helps to fund the development of projects that empower isolated communities through media, many of which stem from extensive experience in the criminal justice and wider third sectors.

   

‘More fool us’

“Using comedy to explore mental health issues? That’s crazy!” I hear you exclaim, fully aware of the bad pun.

That’s what I am working on with IJP for Southside Partnership, a mental health charity that works with a lot with ex-offenders and prisoners with severe mental health issues.The project is multi-faceted, combining a promotional film for Southside (completed late last year), a live performance by a comedian in Downview prison, plus a DVD of that performance intercut with “behind the scenes” footage, including interviews with comedian John Ryan and focus groups conducted at four Surrey prisons.

Thankfully, I have one of the easier jobs. I am creating a narrative, telling the story of John’s journey to find out about mental health issues in prisons. John, on the other hand, has to make it funny! I will be interested to see how he does that in the final performance. My guess is that he will focus on the absurdities of prison life – of which there are many – and tell some of the stories he has heard in focus groups about what prisoners do on a day-to-day level in order to get through their sentence. I’m expecting a bitter-sweet show.

Shooting inside prisons has a number of challenges, many of which we have faced so far on this project, and there may be more to come! The main challenge is getting permission to film inside a prison. Even for a company like Inside Job Productions, with a long track record of this kind of work, in addition to Southside, who go into prisons all the time, we have had stumbling blocks from prison bureaucracies in terms of gaining entry. Luckily a history of experience in how to negotiate such hurdles helps us navigate the many layers of management in a prison, ensuring we’re doing everything that we need to in order to secure the shoot.

The other element is the shoot itself, as one rarely has complete control over the location. Shooting schedules have to work around the prison schedules, there is limited time to prepare a room/location for filming and there is almost nothing you can do about the noise – a working prison is going to be noisy so you just have to accept it and hope you have a good sound recordist!

But with challenges come creative solutions. I find that, in all filmmaking, there are obstacles and blocks, people who tell you what you CAN’T do, which just makes you think more laterally about what you CAN do. Plan A on this project has already fallen through, so we’re on to Plan B and also have Plans C&D in reserve, just in case. However it happens, we’re going to make an interesting film.

Charlotte George, Producer/Director, Inside Job Productions

Being a production trainee at IJP

I first started working for Inside Job Productions three days before my 26th birthday, and found myself feeling more like an 18 year old just leaving school. I was so nervous, terrified of talking to and being around people I didn't know. For the last ten months I'd only had to talk to people I knew, and if I didn't know them I knew where they were coming from, they were in the same place as me.

Quicker than I thought I got used to being out in the world and doing normal things, which helped my confidence and self-esteem immensely. Also being in an organisation that was sympathetic to my background really helped. I did loads of different jobs, from basic things like answering the phone and sorting the post to helping out on shoots and even filming and editing.

After being at IJP for six months I got a temp job as an admin assistant and I found it difficult not being able to be open about my past. Although I didn't have any problems with my confidence I didn't relly feel comfortable. I feel a lot happier where I am now, at Clean Break, as they're an organisation that's also sympathetic to people with experience of the criminal justice system. My experience at IJP has helped me in so many ways, I wouldn't have even heard about the job at Clean Break, let alone got it!

Verity LaRoche, Production Trainee, Inside Job Productions

Giving women a voice

I've been freelance producing for IJP for three years now. I love the fact that on every job I'm plunged into scenarios which are fascinating, eye-opening and often quite bizarre. On a dark rainy Wednesday evening last week, I was shown down to the basement of Albany Street Police Station in north London and led into the cells where 5 police officers were waiting to be interviewed, by me. It was late, stiflingly airless, and totally surreal to be directing police custody sergeants from the side of the desk where if I'd had a different kind of life, I might be standing handcuffed, answering questions, rather than asking them. 

I just thought - wow, here I am, talking directly to police on the front line about the way they deal with the most vulnerable women in society. They had all just come off long shifts to be filmed for a DVD, which will help to raise awareness of the issues faced by female offenders.

The DVD was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice in response to Baroness Corston's report for the Government on the treatment of women in the Criminal Justice System. At the beginning of the project, we filmed an interview with her at the House of Lords. She cried as she talked about some of the women she had met in prison, and the stories they had told her about their lives. I've also felt very emotional whilst making this film. Some of the women that we met at Anawim Women's Centre in Birmingham told us things that I could hardly believe still happen in Britain today. They bravely lifted the lid on traumatic experiences to talk to us on camera, and in doing so they will have an important impact on how Police, Probation officers, Judges and Magistrates will handle cases in the future.

This type of commission pushes the envelope of film as a communication tool. The Ministry of Justice won't just use the DVD as part of a new training programme for staff. It will also be distributed to government departments, agencies and policy makers, bringing the lives of the women who spoke to me and the experiences of the staff working with them directly to the heart of national debate about policy and practice in the Criminal Justice System.

Heidi Perry, Producer/Director, Inside Job Productions

Cracking Up

Sometimes researching a new film project can be fun. So a trip to The Hob pub in Forest Hill to see John Ryan, a London/Irish comedian, do a show seemed an inviting prospect. Then it turned out the show was all about mental health. Depression. Suicide. Light-hearted stuff really.

A mix of comedy, sketches and poetry founded on research and contributions from people who have experienced mental health difficulties, Cracking Up aims to 'lift the lid on mental health', encourage people to be more 'open to talking about and seeking help if they experience symptoms' and 'help reduce stigma by normalising mental health problems'.

Actually, to the credit of John, fellow performers and the show's producer Maya Twardzicki, a psychologist working with mental health services in Surrey, Cracking Up turned out to be very funny. Aimed predominantly at men, who find it harder to talk about mental health and to seek help for mental health problems, Twardzicki decided that comedy was going to be the perfect way of engaging audiences with issues, and recruited Ryan, who's already done one successful show on men's health called Hurt Till It Laughs.

In preparation for Cracking Up, discussion sessions were run with different demographic groups of men around Surrey to inform the development of the comedy and sketch scripts. Sixty men took part from around the county including firemen, construction students, long term unemployed and users of mental health services. So far the show has been shown to over 600 people across Surrey and London, and now has two dates for shows in April at the Soho Theatre.

This imaginative approach to raising awareness of mental health issues caught the eye of an organisation called the Southside Partnership, who work with offenders. They asked whether IJP would be interested in helping them, Maya and John to deliver a similar kind of project involving offenders. That's how I ended up in Forest Hill, listening to comedian Gareth Berliner describe his suicide attempt in great detail. And laughing.

Do go to the show if you're interested. And we'll keep you posted on our project with the Southside Partnership.

Naomi Delap, Managing Director, Inside Job Productions

Through the brothel keyhole...

This week a group of us from IJP paid a visit to the Himalaya Film & Cultural Festival to watch a short film called "From Brothel to Bridehood". The documentary, set in Mumbai, follows the work of the Rescue Foundation, an NGO that works for the rescue, rehabilitation and repatriation of victims of human trafficking from India, Nepal and Bangladesh who have been sold for forced prostitution.

Established in the year 2000, the Rescue Foundation rescues women from the brothels of Mumbai and cares for them in one of their three homes providing them with health care, counselling, training, confidence building activities, and where appropriate facilitating arranged marriages to provide them with security and a traditional family way of life.

The film was followed by a short presentation and Q&A from Triveni Acharya, the inspiration and founder of the Rescue Foundation.  The largest organisation of its kind, the NGO rescues more than 300 girls annually, providing them with an escape from a life of exploitation.

Seeing the film drew interesting parallels to the issues IJP works with across many of our films because, as shocking as it may seem, these sorts of problems also exist in the UK.

Many of our past and previous projects have involved communicating the work of organisations which mirror the achievements of the Rescue Foundation in Mumbai. We’re in the middle of filming an IJP commission for NOMS Women’s Team addressing issues faced by women on the cusp of offending. Over the past few weeks I’ve heard interviewees in Birmingham talking about similar problems where from an early age women are drawn into a life of prostitution, drug addiction and domestic violence.

'From Brothel to Bridehood' clearly communicated the impact of the Rescue Foundation's work to deal with the above issues, from the girls' withdrawn young faces when they were rescued to their playful smiles and laughter when dancing.  As a film production company working extensively with social issues, it reinforced the power of film to capture, in a very short space of time, something which couldn't be achieved by words alone.

Ann Summerhayes, Production Co-ordinator, Inside Job Productions

Media as a tool against prejudice

More than one third of adults admit to being prejudiced against Travellers/Gypsies, with such prejudices being frequently reinforced by mainstream media. Before Savvy Chavvy, access to the technological skills and equipment to challenge this representation and express and reinforce a sense of community within traditional media was limited. However, in the form of a unique social networking site, the development of Savvy Chavvy gave young members of this often misrepresented and marginalised community the opportunity to take control of how they are perceived.

Traditionally creating audio and video had been a relatively expensive and complicated process and, crucially, distribution rested with mainstream media outlets. However, the advent of relatively inexpensive and easy to use digital video and audio hardware combined with online platforms such as YouTube and Current TV has created exciting possibilities for communities and individuals to represent themselves, set the agenda and challenge prejudices. For communities such as the Gypsy Roma Traveller community whose portrayal in mainstream media is frequently misinformed or prejudicial, this freedom is nothing short of groundbreaking.

It was suprising how comfortable the young people were with the digital camcorders, audio recorders and editing software and within half a day they were shooting, cutting and up-loading their own work. However, what was even more striking was the clear editorial voice the young people had, each showed a very strong idea of what they wanted to say about themselves, their lives and their community. The result was a series of films and audio work that was powerful, emotive and a real alternative to the portrayal of their community that exists in the mainstream.

The young people involved in the training and all those accessing savvychavvy.com have shown increased confidence, greater pride in their cultural identity and decreased feelings of isolation. Rather than passively using the web, Savvy Chavvy members now view web 2.0 technologies as tools for self and cultural expression and can access a network of like minded individuals to discuss issues of real significance to their lives.

Christy McAleese, Savvy Chavvy Project, Media For Development

Rex Quondam, Rexque Futurus

I recently went to a lecture given by Rex Bloomstein, a documentary maker who’s been filming in and around the criminal justice system since the 1970’s. Organised by the Prisoner’s Education Trust, the event gave a fascinating insight into the enormous changes that have happened in the prison estate over four decades and the way that film has been used to capture, and in Bloomstein’s case, influence that process.

Clips from early films such as ‘The Sentence’, (1975) ‘Release’, (1976) ‘Prisoners’ Wives’, (1977) ‘Parole’, (1978) ‘Lifer’ (1982) and ‘Strangeways’ (1980) showed a system where prisoners still slopped out every morning, adjudications happened behind closed doors and there was widespread concern about the rising prison numbers. The prison population hit 40,000 for the first time in the early 70’s (compared to today’s figure of over 80,000), causing a huge debate about how prisons were run and a desire to open the system to scrutiny to an extent which actually allowed Bloomstein unprecedented access to prisons like Strangeways.

The films gave fascinating portraits of individuals: the wife of a serial criminal sent down yet again; the lifer who’d been in care most of his life who had no intention of submitting to the system at awful cost to his quality of life in prison – revisited again thirty years later in another film in terrible health but somehow finally at peace with himself; and the transvestite lifer who told the story of how he’d found himself in the middle of a police siege – at the beginning of the night demanding a million pounds and a helicopter, and at the end, a bottle of Pernod...

Bloomstein’s style is laconic, slow-moving, allowing the situations to unfold and subjects to speak for themselves. At the same time, he asks pointed questions in voice-over – why does so much happen behind closed doors? When will it change? And his questions prompted further questions, and sometimes answers. His films showed the public a hidden world and had a direct effect. At the end of the talk a member of the audience stood up to comment: it was Martin Narey, former head of the prison service and now Chief Executive of children’s charity Barnadoes. Narey had watched Bloomstein’s film about Strangeways and had been inspired to join the prison service as a result.

Bloomstein is still making films addressing fundamentally important subjects: the Holocaust (KZ 2005) , freedom of expression (An Independent Mind 2008) and the criminal justice system – he made a film about children in prison in 2005. He talked about the need to keep making his films simply and with integrity – moving in the opposite direction to the majority of factual programming on TV today. At the same time, the filming environment has changed, although with his track record Bloomstein has more clout than most. Compliance, the spectre haunting TV in the noughties and presumably the decade to come, means the filming process has changed radically and film-makers are much less able to film opportunistically and spontaneously.

Still, as we move into a new decade, Bloomstein’s classic, thoughtful films are a beacon of light in a sea of formatted drivel. Proof that film-making can still be powerful, influential, affecting.

Naomi Delap, Managing Director, Inside Job Productions