Deerbolt Exterior Shot (credit Nepacs)

Five lessons learnt about delivering creative projects in a prison environment

Five lessons we’ve learnt during Creative Aid, a three-year project supporting care-experienced young men in Deerbolt Prison to be recognised as artists

Posted: April 9 2025
Category: Blog

Creative Aid is a three-year project delivered in partnership with Nepacs and funded by The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund, supporting care-experienced young men in Deerbolt Prison to be recognised as artists. Jane Gray, project manager, shares some of the lessons the team has learnt during the first stage of the project.

The aims of Creative Aid were informed by a creative consultation by Blue Cabin and Nepacs, which Blue Cabin Associate Artist, Nic, carried out remotely with 12 young men at Deerbolt Prison.

In the short term, the project aims to:

support participants to develop their confidence and sense of pride, wellbeing and emotional literacy
help them to explore their life stories and develop their relationships with others, including family members and peers in Deerbolt
support them to develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of the arts
support participants to achieve an Arts Award accreditation.

And in the long term, we aim to help the participants to:

be recognised as artists and feel a sense of belonging in society
make pro-social choices, to refrain from reoffending, and engage in positive activities
increase their confidence to access the ‘arts’ in the community
use their Arts Award achievement to lead onto further education or employment opportunities
experience improved relationships with family and significant others
develop their confidence and sense of pride, wellbeing and emotional literacy
develop their relationships with others, including family members and peers in Deerbolt.

What happened during year one of the project?

In the first year of the project, 10 young men explored different artforms with Nic (Blue Cabin Artist In Residence), Sarah (Nepacs support worker) and three visiting artists (Blue Cabin Associate Artists, Ruth and Lisette, and Nick).

Every person was introduced to the project through a creative pack, after an initial conversation with Nic and Sarah. This pack introduced some initial creative ideas to kick start their creative journeys and was intentionally created for them to explore on their own, in their cells.

What impact has the first year had on the people taking part?

The group explored artforms including poetry, scriptwriting, typography, graphic design and portraits with visiting artists. Their artwork has gone on show in the reception area of the prison, and five of the participants achieved their Bronze Arts Award.

The artworks created reflect a development in the group’s skills and confidence; they take pride in their work and have been supported to share their emotional insights both individually and as an art collective.

Creative Aid is having a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of the young men taking part and it is regularly noted within case notes that their moods are bolstered as a result of taking part in a Creative Aid session.

Positive relationships are being built and one member of the initial group has put himself forward as a peer mentor for new participants in year two.

“[One of the lads] told me “I’m really enjoying this; this is good this” and said he was feeling much better by the end of the session.” Member of prison staff.

What lessons have been learnt about delivering creative work in a prison?

Allow more time: Time management has been essential in delivering the project, particularly allowing for the time needed for the operational and security requirements needed to deliver sessions in a safe, stable manner.
Be prepared to rethink plans: Sometimes, changes to the prison regime impacted the Creative Aid team’s ability to meet with groups. As a result, our Associate Artist, Nic Golightly, developed ‘in-cell’ activities which acted both as creative prompts and as a means of showing the group that the Creative Aid team are dedicated to developing relationships.
Understand social dynamics: We learnt to understand the complex social dynamics the young men live in, with some of the group sharing that they could be mocked for taking part in the project.
Build in focused time in small groups: Working in small groups has been useful in giving the group members focused time with the project team and visiting artists and has also meant the lads feel less exposed when taking part in activities.
Stability and newness are both important: Whilst the Creative Aid team spent a significant amount of time building relationships with the group, the responses the group had to new artists joining the project was incredibly positive as well. There is a need for both stability and newness in keeping the group engaged and excited by Creative Aid.

How do you evaluate the impact of creative work in a prison?

We are working with tialt to evaluate the impact of Creative Aid over the three years. Light touch evaluation methods have been used, including pre and post-session check-ins and check-outs.

One participant has shared his feelings about the sessions with a member of the Creative Aid team, saying:

“I feel creatively much, much better, and I’ve came out of this course much better than when I started. Taking part in this has made me feel so much more confident and self expressive.

“At first I was a bit wary, but with Ruth teaching us about poetry and books I went head first into it and enjoy making my own poetry, and in my pad. I enjoy making them, it takes my mind off being in jail.

“I made a poem for my Mam and she loved it ☺”

Thank you to the whole Creative Aid team for sharing what they’ve learnt.

Read more about the practicalities of working with care-leavers in prison in this article by the Creative Aid team.

And listen to an interview with Blue Cabin Associate Artist, Nic and Sarah from Nepacs here.

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Care Leavers Prison

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