Live art event at HMP Thorn Cross

At Novus, encouraging prisoners into education is our biggest priority however, with many learners often having a negative relationship with education, due to their experiences at school and being reluctant to engage, this can often be a challenge. 

However, by creating new ways of accessing education through our creative enrichment provision, we are able to engage learners who wouldn't engage otherwise and encourage them to participate in other forms of education such as maths and English. 

Recently, the art and media departments at HMP Thorn Cross planned, organised, delivered and filmed a live art event. The aim of the event was to provide a unique opportunity for the wider prison population to engage in a fun learning activity. 

Working collaboratively across education departments to provide a prison-wide creative enrichment event

To prepare for the event, learners in the art department prepared outlines of various famous figures, practising the skills involved with portraiture. As part of this, learners practiced the different brush strokes and tones needed for larger scale paintings so they could in turn demonstrate and share their learning with others at the event. 

The media class also prepared for the event by planning the type of camera angles they were going to use for the filming, as well as creating a storyboard to identify the sequence of the short film they were going to make.

On the day of the event, Novus colleagues and the wider prison were invited to paint the pre-sketched portraits of inspiring figures in the Black community past, present and future. The event took place in a central location adopting a 'street art' format which resulted in a vibrant creative atmosphere, with the kitchen providing samples of food inspired by Black cultures.

The event was a huge success, with one learner who took part in the planning and delivery commenting positively on the experience:

I am more confident in myself now, being part of a team and helping others create an art piece was good. I feel like I have accomplished something different

After the event, the media class created a short film out of clips from the day, arranging the clips and editing where appropriate. 

One of the learners commented that:

This was a new experience, I have thoroughly enjoyed the process of making the film, using the different camera angles and creating a unique piece of work 

 By working collaboratively, both the media and art departments were able to organise and deliver a prison-wide event, making education more accessible for other prisoners and engaging them in the provision that Novus offer. The event also offered learners the opportunity to further develop their skills in their chosen vocation and gave them the opportunity to showcase these skills to other prisoners. 

To keep up to date with the latest projects and events happening across Novus establishments, take a look at the news section.