MEET A FEMALE PRISONER AND FREE INSIDE PARTICIPANT
In July 2022, women in prison took part in four days of creative writing workshops as part of our project, Free Inside.
One participant shared their experience on the project.
FREE INSIDE
“AT FIRST, I WAS WORRIED [THE PROJECT] WOULD BE LIKE SCHOOL AND I REVERTED TO BEING THE CLASS CLOWN, BUT AS I LISTENED AND GAVE IT A CHANCE, I ENDED UP ENJOYING IT AND I REALLY LIKE THE FINAL PIECE I’VE WRITTEN.”
FREE INSIDE PARTICIPANT, JULY 2022
the project
Free Inside is our creative arts project working with women’s prisons in tandem with a specialist unit. The project provides women in prison with the chance to be creative and express themselves while improving life skills.
Working with Create’s professional artists, participants are encouraged to work together and collectively agree on a theme for their creative activities. Participants might choose to draw from personal experience, focus on an interest or come up with something completely new. The process of engaging in creative activities and sharing with the group gives them a voice and an important means of self-expression, and builds their confidence and self-esteem.
Through the creative arts, Free Inside helps participants to enhance their creative thinking, develop social skills and relationships, and build resilience by stepping out of their comfort zone.
THE NEED
Creative activities bring many benefits for prisoners. The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance’s Re-Imagining Futures report says that arts projects enable prisoners “to redefine themselves, engage with productive activities and improve their ability to co-operate with others”.
The Ministry of Justice shared data submitted by the Prisoners’ Education Trust, which showed that grants for arts materials resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the reoffending rate.
Free Inside enables women in prison to embrace the benefits of creativity and to improve their confidence and life skills, providing them with more resources to draw upon once they complete their sentence.
artwork GALLERY
The Upward Slide, part 1 – prose written by Free Inside participant
The Upward Slide, part 2 – prose written by Free Inside participant
