Singing with conviction: New Zealand prisons and Maori populations

Abstract

This article describes the Singing with Conviction pilot project (SWCPP) facilitated by Arts Access Aotearoa in the New Zealand prison system in 200405. The pilot project was modelled in part on competitive prison singing groups in South Africa, with adaptations made for the New Zealand cultural context. The analysis proceeds in two steps. First, I describe the pilot project, placing it in relation to a more-encompassing arts strategy for marginalized prison populations. Second, I explore ethnic dimensions of the SWCPP related to New Zealand's Maori population, quantifying the disproportionate representation of Maori persons in New Zealand's prisons and summarizing recent efforts to incorporate indigenous Maori modes of punishment and dispute resolution within New Zealand's criminal justice system. I conclude with general reflections on how a prison choir project might better serve a bicultural population.

“We all Come Together to Learn About Music”: A Qualitative Analysis of a 5-Year Music Program in a Juvenile Detention Facility

“…However, the next largest category were programs that were choral performance based (e.g. Cohen, 2007Cohen, , 2009Cohen, , 2012Menning, 2010;Roma, 2010;Silber, 2007). So, while many detention programs are successfully using culturally relevant genres, there is a need for further research to investigate the differences in impact depending on the type of music genre used.…”

Rhizomatic affective spaces and the therapeutic potential of music in prison: a qualitative meta-synthesis

“…Research literature (for detailed literature reviews see also Hughes 2005;Johnson 2008; Djurichkovich 2011, Cheliotis & Jordanoska, 2016), suggests that the effects of arts programmes can be both synchronic (at the time of imprisonment) as well as diachronic (developing over time) in terms of their contribution towards desistance. For example, arts can contribute towards the improvement of prison life (Silber, 2010;Menning, 2010), act as an escape route and a way to cope with the pains of imprisonment (Maruna, 2010) but also instil motivation towards 'imagining and embarking on the desistance process' (McNeill, Anderson, Colvin, Overy, Sparks & Tett, 2011). It has been a matter of debate whether such effects are measurable in terms of 'hard' evidence of reductions in recidivism.…”

Learning through dissonance: Critical service-learning in a juvenile detention center as field experience in music teacher education

“…Wind bands (Lee, 2010), songwriting groups (Shieh, 2010), guitar programs (Marcum, 2014), gamelan ensembles (Henley, 2015), and string orchestras (Warfield, 2010) can be found in jails and prisons across the United States and beyond. Choral participation has brought inmates together with community members to foster a sense of community and shared humanity (Menning, 2010;Roma, 2010;Silber, 2005), and has had a measureable effect on inmates' sense of wellbeing (Cohen, 2009). Teacher educators have begun to examine how teaching in detention centers can affect a teacher's ability to be culturally responsive (Thompson, 2014) and socially just (Abrahams, Rowland, & Kohler, 2012).…”