Profiles
We profile the work of programme managers, volunteers, arts tutors, prisoners and ex-offenders.
In this section
Prisoner profile: striving for the best
23 January 2012 Azah Jae Tee (not his real name), a student with The Learning Connexion for the past two years, has always been keen to exhibit his work as much as possible. View Prisoner profile: striving for the best...
Stepping up at Arohata Prison
24 January 2012 “We have prisoners who write and publish poetry. We have visual artists. One makes origami, another writes waiata. When prisoners come here they have a raw talent. If we can get someone to work with them to develop that talent, it gives the women the confidence to step up and make change,” says Ann Abraham, Prison Manager at Arohata Prison in Wellington. View Stepping up at Arohata Prison...
The roots of whakairo in Rimutaka
19 December 2011 The history of whakairo (carving), undertaken by prisoners in Te Whare Whakaahuru (the Maori Focus Unit) at Rimutaka Prison, dates back to the time of kaumatua Jock McKewen – a Scottish writer, composer and carver who was passionate about Māori development. View The roots of whakairo in Rimutaka...
Volunteers provide vital community connections
25 November 2011 Volunteers play an important role in the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners by providing connections to the community, says Barbara Jennings, National Advisor Volunteers, Department of Corrections. View Volunteers provide vital community connections...
Finding the “magic glow” of art
23 November 2011 “Sometimes I feel and see a magic glow in parts of my work but sometimes this magic disappears. I work hard to find this pleasing glow of magic but it can disappear in the blink of an eye,” says Paul (not his real name), a prisoner in Rimutaka Prison studying art through Chris Barrand’s weekly classes. View Finding the “magic glow” of art...
Prisoner profile: a bottomless jar of ideas
21 October 2011 “It’s great to have access to art supplies and to paint out the backlog of ideas that has built up,” says Emma Wilding (not her real name), a prisoner undertaking the first year of the diploma programme with The Learning Connexion. View Prisoner profile: a bottomless jar of ideas...
Chris Barrand: art a way back into the community
20 October 2011 Connecting people with art and with the community … It’s a recurring subject in a conversation with Chris Barrand about his life as an artist, and art tutor at Pablos Art Studios in Wellington and Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt. View Chris Barrand: art a way back into the community...
Prisoner art a strategy for life and healing
21 September 2011 Eleven art panels, developed through a collaborative process between prisoners, prison art tutor Corina Hazlett and staff, built a level of tolerance for prisoners to work together that very few people could manage in similar situations outside a prison. View Prisoner art a strategy for life and healing...
Prisoner profile: opening up new paths
22 August 2011 Paddy Hayes (not his real name) has been a student with The Learning Connexion for the past two years and is currently completing the first year of the diploma programme. Initially, he studied from prison and says he appreciated the fact that he wasn’t judged. View Prisoner profile: opening up new paths...
Verbatim accounts of impact of violent crime
19 August 2011 Five years researching, devising and performing in the play Verbatim had a “massive impact” on her life, says Miranda Harcourt, a leading New Zealand theatre practitioner and patron of Arts Access Aotearoa. View Verbatim accounts of impact of violent crime...
Prisoner profile: art is a way to keep focussed
20 July 2011 Right from the outset, Jay Bizell (not his real name) has been highly motivated, taking on technical challenges that often scared him. But his eagerness to learn outweighed this fear. View Prisoner profile: art is a way to keep focussed...
Painting that rehabilitates: new insights at Auckland Prison
20 June 2011 There is much to be said about the benefits of art-making in any community of artists. However, the self-taught art skills and practice of prisoner Rawiri (not his real name) at Auckland Prison offers new insights into the rehabilitative value of the arts in prisons. View Painting that rehabilitates: new insights at Auckland Prison...
Prisoner profile: “Art has so much to do with daily life”
16 June 2011 Hewa Wiremu (not his real name) has a love of the land and often paints places that he remembers as a child in rural New Zealand. In his work, he often tries to capture the sublime colours of the sky – particularly sunsets. View Prisoner profile: “Art has so much to do with daily life”...
Prisoner profile: “So much scope for me to develop further”
23 May 2011 Prisoners are able to participate in Learning Connexion visual arts courses through distance learning processes. At the beginning of 2011, there were approximately 80 students studying from Corrections’ facilities around the country. Sharon Hall, Restricted Programmes Co-ordinator and Distance Delivery Mentor at The Learning Connexion, sent a written questionnaire to Zoe (not her real name), asking her about the art-making process. View Prisoner profile: “So much scope for me to develop further”...
Marg McCullough: art in Invercargill Prison
18 April 2011 “Art is a wonderful medium of change for some prisoners. It’s a skill, a hobby or even a career they can take with them when they are released,” says Marg McCullough, Programmes Co-ordinator at Invercargill Prison since 2002. View Marg McCullough: art in Invercargill Prison...
“Best model to reduce re-offending among Māori”
15 March 2011 The governing kawa of the country’s only Māori Focus Site at the Northland Region Corrections Facility in Kaikohe, as set by Ngati Rangi alongside the Department of Corrections, offers the best possible model to reduce re-offending among Māori. View “Best model to reduce re-offending among Māori”...
Libby Patterson: lifetime of art knowledge
15 March 2011 Prison art tutor Libby Patterson brings a lifetime of art knowledge, practice and networks to prisoners at Mount Eden Prison. She is however, very clear about her role there. “I'm here to help prevent recidivism. I'm sure art helps towards recovery.” View Libby Patterson: lifetime of art knowledge...
Vincents ensures a sense of place and contribution
11 February 2011 Vincents Art Workshop in downtown Wellington has been celebrating 25 years of creative endeavour across a number of visual arts disciplines, culminating in late 2010 with an exhibition showcasing the art of some of the city’s most vulnerable people. View Vincents ensures a sense of place and contribution...
Validating prison art in an international outsider art context
12 January 2011 The artwork of talented New Zealand prisoners deserves to be seen alongside international outsider art, says Wellington artist, curator and academic Stuart Shepherd. View Validating prison art in an international outsider art context...
US prison arts founder named Greatest Person of the Day
26 November, 2010 Katherine Vockins, founder and director of New York-based Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA), was earlier this month named Greatest Person of the Day by America’s influential Huffington Post blog. View US prison arts founder named Greatest Person of the Day...
Phyllis Kornfeld: unplugging creativity
24 November, 2010 Internationally renowned American prison art teacher and lecturer Phyllis Kornfeld sees her primary function as “unplugging”. View Phyllis Kornfeld: unplugging creativity...
Maths and art meet in prison
9 November 2010 Geometric artworks – compelling, skillfully drawn and hung for visitor viewing at Mt Eden Prison in Auckland – were spotted by Moana Tipa, Prison Arts Advisor, Arts Access Aotearoa, during her recent visit there. View Maths and art meet in prison...
A journey of restoration
22 September 2010 When men in the Faith Based Unit at Rimutaka Prison heard about a young girl with leukaemia they wrote her a song, made a recording and sent it to her at the Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland. View A journey of restoration...
Theatre as a tool to transform
20 September 2010 Māori theatre as a tool for change continues to fuel the long-held, powerhouse vision and work of Jim Moriarty, Artistic Director of Te Rakau Hua o Te Wao Tapu Trust. Moana Tipa, Prison Art Advisor, Arts Access Aotearoa is invited to visit. View Theatre as a tool to transform...
The cultural heart of rehabilitation
27 August 2010 The Spring Hill Corrections Facility, located just 20 minutes south of Manukau City, is a 650-bed facility accommodating prisoners with low to high-security classifications. View The cultural heart of rehabilitation...
Nelson creative space works with local offenders
16 April 2010 Painting the walls, tidying up the outdoor area, working alongside the artists and helping to make props for Community Art Works’ float in the annual Christmas parade in Nelson are some of the tasks undertaken by local offenders serving a sentence of community work. View Nelson creative space works with local offenders...
Sharon Hall: artist and tutor
16 March 2010 Sharon Hall, Restricted Programmes Co-ordinator and prison tutor at The Learning Connexion, talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about being an artist and facilitating the prison art programme for TLC. View Sharon Hall: artist and tutor...
The arts in Wellington prisons
25 February 2010 Programmes Manager Mary Stenton talks to Arts Access Aotearoa about arts activities in the three Wellington prisons (Rimutaka, Arohata and Wellington), which together house more than one thousand men and women. These range from low-security prisoners, some of them in self-care accommodation or special focus units, to long-term, high-medium security with restricted unlock hours. View The arts in Wellington prisons...
The Learning Connexion: working in prisons
11 February 2010 Prisoners are able to participate in Learning Connexion courses through distance learning processes. At the beginning of 2010, there were 80 students studying from Corrections’ facilities around the country. View The Learning Connexion: working in prisons...
The arts in Canterbury Prisons: everyone benefits
8 February 2010 A conversation with one of the delegates at the CSAC Women Offenders Conference, hosted by the Department of Corrections in December last year, got Monique Reekers thinking about presenting a prison performing arts event, similar to Te Timatanga Hou: The New Beginning – a work by Jim Moriarty and Te Rakau Hua o Te Wao Tapu Trust, performed with prisoners in 2004. View The arts in Canterbury Prisons: everyone benefits...
Paul Bradley: challenging prisoners to create and make choices
9 December 2009 “Jumping into a creative mindset for a couple of hours a week can be a big ask for prisoners living in an environment where everything else is so structured,” says art tutor Paul Bradley. View Paul Bradley: challenging prisoners to create and make choices...
Robyn Hughes: life skills through art
13 October 2009 Learning life skills such as teamwork, communication, self-criticism and following a project through to its completion are among the many benefits of prison art programmes, says long-time Auckland Prison art tutor and former Auckland University lecturer Robyn Hughes. View Robyn Hughes: life skills through art...
Mark Lynds: mover and shaker
7 July 2009 “International research shows that the arts in their many forms can be a powerful rehabilitation tool for prisoners,” says Mark Lynds, Programmes Manager at Auckland Prison and Northern Region Corrections Facility, and recipient of the Big ‘A’ Prison Arts Leadership Award 2009. View Mark Lynds: mover and shaker...
“It motivated me to change my life”
21 October 2008 Using the skills and self-discipline he learned as a prisoner, Auckland artist Bryan G. Slight is so busy these days he reckons he hardly has time to cook dinner. View “It motivated me to change my life”...