The newsletter for arts organisations working in criminal justice.
In this month's issue...
- National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance news
- Events and training
- Arts and criminal justice news
- Resources and publications
October highlights
Welcome to the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance's (NCJAA) October newsletter. It has been a busy and exciting month. Last night we celebrated the launch of Crime and Consequence, a book curated by Clinks and the NCJAA for The Monument Fellowship, which is available for pre-order here. Earlier in the month we were at the Young Vic with François Matarasso for our 10th annual Anne Peaker lecture, and if you weren't able to join us you can read a summary here. Read on to find out about opportunities with the NCJAA and the latest news from the arts and culture and criminal justice sectors.
Apply for a mentor
Early career practitioners and professionals can now apply for a mentor through our Professional Mentoring Scheme for 2020. The scheme, now in its sixth year, shares knowledge of arts and criminal justice across the NCJAA's network by providing specialist guidance and professional development through a free one-to-one mentoring relationship with an expert in the field. Please read the information pack carefully before applying. The deadline for mentees to join the 2020 scheme is 9th December 2019. Find out more and apply here
Local practice development
We want to hear from artists, arts organisations, prison staff and policy-makers interested in arts in criminal justice settings in Buckinghamshire. We are embarking on a 12-month local practice development project to scope arts in criminal justice settings in the Buckinghamshire region. Funded by the Rothschild Foundation, the project will explore models of good practice and foster collaborative working in order to support the Foundation’s further investment in this area. Find out more here
November training
Book now to secure your place on our one-day training courses coming up in the next month. Our popular 'Introduction to arts in prisons' course will be held in Manchester on 11th November and media training with the Prison Radio Association will take place in Birmingham on 27th November. Limited bursary places on both courses are available to individuals with lived experience of the criminal justice system and/or of black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Find out more and book here
Our response to Arts Council England
Clinks and the NCJAA have published a joint response to Arts Council England's (ACE) final consultation on its upcoming 10-year strategy. To inform this response we spoke to members of the NCJAA network and steering group. We also spoke to officials from the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service in recognition of their support for arts in the criminal justice system and the partnership opportunities this represents for ACE to build on its work in criminal justice. ACE plans to publish the final strategy, which will take effect from April 2020, in December 2019. Read our response here
New blog: One year on
Our Development Officer, Rebbecca Hemmings, has written about her first year with the NCJAA. The blog gives an insight into her journey, which Rebbecca describes as “fast paced, shocking, humbling, motivating, sad, celebratory and encouraging” and shares learning points, such as addressing poor outcomes experienced by black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the criminal justice system. Rebbecca’s first year focused on building the NCJAA network in the West Midlands, and this blog celebrates her move to focus on engaging with artists, practitioners and organisations in the North West. Read the blog here
A partnership approach
We wrote a guest blog for Arts Council England about our recently published good practice guide, Enhancing arts and culture in the criminal justice system. The blog outlines our vision and important aspects of the guide alongside examples of best practice, which highlight why a partnership approach is key to success for anyone delivering arts and culture in the criminal justice system. Read the guest blog here
Want to include something in the next newsletter?
We will be sending our next newsletter on Thursday 28th November. Please email dora.dixon@clinks.org with any news, research, events, opportunities or blog proposals by Tuesday 19th November.
I am the Coyote
Extended to 12th January 2020 | Hull | Free
Novus, the University of Hull and HMP Humber have collaborated on an exhibition titled 'I am the Coyote', which aims to show the power of art as a rehabilitation tool in prisons over 45 years. It includes art produced from the Special Unit 74 and HMP Humber’s GRAFT Studio, the largest art college in the UK prison sector. Find out more here
Jadek
16th October - 4th December | UK tour | From £6
Yorkshire-based theatre company Imagine If is bringing its new production Jadek, a semi-autobiographical story of the writer's relationship with her Polish grandfather, to theatres and prisons across the country this Autumn. Free tickets are available for people with lived experience of the criminal justice system and the company is available for prison bookings. Find out more and book here
Shook
30th October - 23rd November | London | From £18
Winner of the 2019 Papatango New Writing Prize, Samuel Bailey’s play, Shook, examines the young men society shuts away. In two post-show events Switchback, Bounce Back and Key4Life will discuss the production and its exploration of life in a young offenders' institution. Papatango is offering a 25% discount to the NCJAA network with the code SHOOKSHARE. Book here
Dance Club at Scrubs
7th - 10th November | London | Free
This exhibition celebrates the culmination of the first edition of Dance Club, a dance and choreography course run at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. The work from Dance Club is exhibited alongside pieces by artist Erika Flowers, who has lived experience of the criminal justice system and will join a panel discussing prison, masculinity, vulnerability and dance on the 10th November. Find out more and book here
Staging rehabilitation masterclass
21st November | London | From £55
Two members of the NCJAA steering group and leading organisations in the field of theatre and criminal justice, Clean Break and Geese Theatre Company, are hosting a masterclass for both artists and criminal justice professionals interested in learning more and exploring best practice in the field. Book here
Social prescribing
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock MP has set up a new national academy that aims to make social prescribing as accessible as medical care on the NHS. Following a £5 million investment from the Government, the National Academy for Social Prescribing will work to standardise the quality and range of social prescribing available, increase awareness using evidence-based results and develop and share best practice. Find out more here
Probation review
Following a review of timescales for the Probation Dynamic Framework procurement, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) now anticipates launching the qualification phase in early 2020 and launching the competition for day one services from April 2020 onwards. HMPPS is hosting two market warming webinars to outline the proposed commercial elements and schedules of rehabilitative and resettlement services procured through the Dynamic Framework. The online webinars will take place on 26th November (free, but registration essential). Sign up here
Education commissioning update
The Ministry of Justice’s Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) has updated its terms, including lowering certain financial due diligence thresholds, to make it easier for unincorporated entities (typically sole traders) to join the system and bid for education contracts. The NCJAA (alongside Clinks and the Prisoner Learning Alliance, convened by the Prisoners’ Education Trust) welcomes this development, which we hope will enable a wider range of practitioners to deliver prison education, including independent arts practitioners and social enterprises. Find out more
Prisoner publishing project
HMP Nottingham has published Unlocked!, the first book to come out of a pilot project headed by Dr Lucy Bell of the University of Surrey and Dr Joey Whitfield of Cardiff University. The project challenges prisoners to write creatively and attempt ‘cartonera’ book publishing, a technique of rapid, low-cost publishing borrowed from Latin America. HMP Nottingham plans to run the programme on an ongoing basis and the project will also be developed at other prisons, starting with HMP Downview. Find out more here
Artists and change-makers programme
Lyrix Organix and the British Council’s Active Citizens team are launching a programme titled The Borders Within. They are looking for 30 change-makers - poets, musicians, rappers, writers, theatre makers, visual artists, film-makers, photographers, designers, social entrepreneurs and producers - to join their five training days in November, leading to 10 collaborative social action projects that affect change in communities. Find out more and sign up
Wales Arts International funding
Wales Arts International has launched a new fund, Connect, to support individual creative practitioners and arts organisations based in Wales to engage with European networks. Connect will prioritise participation in an event organised by an established European network. Applications are open until 15th March 2020 or whilst funds are available. Find out more and apply
Supporting people with convictions into work
The Cabinet Office has published a summary from its call for evidence last year on supporting people with convictions into employment. Clinks and the NCJAA submitted a letter to the call for evidence giving examples of charities that support people with convictions into employment, including Unlock, Synergy Theatre Project, and Offploy. The summary shows the voluntary sector as leading in the most inclusive recruitment practices and the public sector as significantly more likely to ask about convictions at application stage, emphasising the importance of boosting good practice in the public sector. Read more here
Experiences of arts practitioners
Two members of the NCJAA research network, Laura Caulfield and Ella Simpson, have published an article in The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice that looks at the experiences of arts practitioners in prisons. Findings reveal "voices of resistance" in practitioner narratives and suggest an "outsider-ness" that may be shared with participants. Read an article summary here
Arts in prisons worldwide
Performing Arts in Prisons, a new book edited by Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Linda Davey, John Rynne and Huib Schippers, explores prison arts in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Chile, and creates a new framework for understanding its practices. Buy the book here
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This newsletter is written monthly by Dora Dixon. Email dora.dixon@clinks.org if you wish to submit any news.
Clinks manages the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) and is the legally accountable body for all official NCJAA activity.
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