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Disclaimer

The Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivativeWorks licence 3.0 permits reproduction, distribution and public communication of the material, as long as the authorship of the material and the CEJFE (Catalan Ministry of Justice) are credited and no commercial use is made of it, nor is it transformed to generate derived works (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.ca)

Unlocking potential transforming lives

James KingHead of offender learning, Scottish Prison Service

Barcelona, March, 6th, 2015Compartim Knowledge Manadgment Programme of Department of Justice in Catalonia

VIII Conference on Catalonia Prison Arts

Art and prison in Scotland

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Our Vision:

Helping to build a safer Scotland ‐

Unlocking Potential ‐

Transforming Lives 

OUR MISSION:

Providing services that help to transform the lives of people in our care so 

they can fulfil their potential and become responsible citizens.

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We deliver this through: 

Custody :  Managing safe and secure custodial environments

Order : Providing stability and order that helps offenders to transform their lives

Care : Supporting wellbeing and treating with respect and humanity all in our care

Opportunity

: Providing opportunities which develop the potential of our staff, our 

partnerships and the people in our care

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9 Offender Outcomes

� Sustained or improved physical and mental wellbeing.� Reduced or stabilised substance misuse.� Improved literacy skills.� Employability prospects increased.� Maintained or improved relationships with families, peers and community.� The ability to access and sustain community support, including financial advice and education.� The ability to access and sustain suitable accommodation.� The ability to live independently if they choose.� Improvements in the attitudes or behaviour which lead to offending and greater acceptance of responsibility in managing behaviour and understanding of the impact 

of offending on victims and families.

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HMP Barlinnie, Glasgow is Scotland’s largest prison holding around 1,400 

prisoners.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-prison-barlinnie-could-become-1116606

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Art - as activity - for pleasure

Art - as an educational pursuit-intellectual exercise

Art - as a living expression of thought, emotion and portrayal

The Story of the ‘Special Unit’

therapeutic arts initiative HMP Barlinnie

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HMP Barlinnie, Glasgow

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“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty…………..Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”

Kofi Annan 1996

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Author: Agência Brasil, licensed on CC Attribution 3.0 Brazil similar to cc-by)

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Scots Language Projects

http://www.slideshare.net/Nokhov/robert-burns-1831414

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Creating Change, Creative Arts Project across Scottish prisons 2010-11

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Opera at HMP Shotts, near Glasgow

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"The arts can transform students lives in ways that are unprecedented and in ways that have the potential to change the very society in which we live"

Dr Linda Nathan, Ted Talks April 2013.

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Drama at HMP Barlinnie, Glasgow

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“People will know the storyof my portrait by the colourdifference between the two.The grey one is me insidejail, all drawn in and lookingsad. The brighter one of melooking happier…meout of the jail!’

Young Offender, Self Portrait: ‘Mirrors’HM YOI Polmont

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Self Portrait: Mirrors, HMP Shotts, “Who am I? What can I become?”

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Award Winning Prison Magazine, HMP Shotts, near Glasgow

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“We need to be able to  write poems and stories that 

reflect and enrich who we  are. We need to express that 

through visual arts, music,  through theatre and dance,  through film. And in doing 

so, we need to eradicate  false demarcation lines 

between the expressive arts  and every other subject.”

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Scotland’s Learning Plan

http://www.creativescotland.com/resources/our-publications/plans-and-strategy-documents/scotlands-creative-learning-plan-2013

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Visual Art HMP Shotts

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‘Tree of 

Forgiveness’

HMP 

Inverness

Koestler 

2013

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‘Don’t Go says the Rose’,

HMP Shotts,

Koestler Award 2013

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“I am enough of an artist to draw  freely upon my imagination. 

Imagination is more important  than knowledge. Knowledge is  limited. Imagination encircles the 

world.”

Albert EinsteinPortrait Albert Einstein (public domain)

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Thank you