When I Run in My Bare Feet: Music, Writing, and Theater in a North Carolina Women’s Prison

Lucas, Ashley

doi:10.5406/americanmusic.31.2.0134

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…However, they would likely do little to enhance prison administrators’ support of arts-based programming. There remains an incongruity between, as Lucas (2013, p. 157) notes above, ‘making beautiful things for the sake of their own beauty’ and the values of the neo-liberal prison system. And when artists’ clearance can be revoked at any time, developing a carceral program that does not readily adhere to institutional priorities is potentially risky.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants were then given time to write their individual responses and complete the sentences. It is common for prison arts programs to require participants to disclose their criminal charges or tell deeply personal stories in order to encourage them to take responsibility for their actions as part of the rehabilitation process (Biggs, 2016; Fraden, 2004; Lucas, 2013). In contrast, the prompts in the arts program here were designed to offer space for self-determination and affirmation, and were never explicitly about the women’s prison sentences.…”

Section: Conducting a Carceral Arts-based Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regarding the second area of the arts-based evaluation—artistic engagement—we wanted to consider the value of arts activities in and of themselves. In so doing, we aimed to counter the practice of much carceral arts programming where ‘prisoners are often characterized as the objects of their own art rather than the agents who created it’ (Lucas, 2013, p. 135). Lucas (2013, p. 157) reminds us that art is sometimes about ‘making beautiful things for the sake of their own beauty’ and encourages artists working inside prisons to focus ‘on the craft of art making [.…”

Section: Conducting a Carceral Arts-based Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Limits of Rehabilitation and Recidivism Reduction: Rethinking the Evaluation of Arts Programming in Prisons

Meulen

Omstead²

2020

The Prison Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Canadian prison-based arts and other programming are limited at best. Even the country’s Correctional Investigator, or prison-ombudsperson, has critiqued the lack of meaningful options in which prisoners can engage. Those programs that do exist tend to be focused on the logic of penal rehabilitation, with the end goal of reducing recidivism. In this article, we showcase the evaluation of a 9-week arts program in a women’s prison, the aim of which was to build community and foster artistic engagement, thus running counter to normative carceral logics.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conducting a Carceral Arts-based Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conducting a Carceral Arts-based Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Limits of Rehabilitation and Recidivism Reduction: Rethinking the Evaluation of Arts Programming in Prisons

Meulen

Omstead²

2020

The Prison Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Prison arts programs offer a variety of subjects, including philosophy (Self & D’Amico, 1983; Szifris, 2016), writing (Lucas, 2013; Maher, 2015), fine arts and art therapy (Barak, 2017; Brewster, 2015; Gussak, 2004), music and theater (Brewster, 2010; Browne, 2009), and reading groups (Billington, 2011; Sweeney, 2008). Yet, prison arts programs face struggles in a cultural climate that devalues arts education, leading critics to characterize such programs as benefiting those offering classes more than they benefit prisoners (Ruyter, 2017) and serving as little more than a form of “decorative justice” (Cheliotis, 2014).…”

Section: Introduction: Thinking Critically About Critical Thinking Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Art and Mindfulness Behind Bars: Examples From Wyoming Prison-Based Courses on Memoir and Stoic Philosophy

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this self-reflective piece, the coauthors critically engage with their experiences using arts-based and mindfulness practices with incarcerated women and men and university students. We offer insights derived from teaching two separate arts-based courses in prison. The first focused on memoir-writing, a unique storytelling form in which a writer’s experiences take center stage. The second involved engaging with philosophy to discover more effective ways of living. The experiences of all concerned in these two classes emphasized the power of arts-based and mindfulness education to transform lives, both within and outside prison walls.

show abstract

“…In light of these findings, prison music programs are becoming more common (Daykin et al, 2013). However, the majority of these programs tend to be limited to choir, guitar, or songwriting classes because these curricula present minimal security challenges (Cohen, 2007(Cohen, , 2009(Cohen, , 2012Harbert, 2013;Lucas, 2013;Voth & Waters, 1997) and are cost-effective (Carnes, 2017;Marcum, 2014). But what about string programs?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Corner: Introducing a String Music Program to Youth in Detention

Thompson

2022

String Research Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Offering music programs in prisons is one way that artists may contribute to the correctional system’s rehabilitative goals. To explore the role music may play in rehabilitating youth in detention, I developed a string program at a Youth Development Center. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the outcomes of implementing the string program at the center. Eight of the program’s members, aged 13 to 17 from various cultural backgrounds, volunteered to participate in this study. Data collection included field notes and interviews with the youth and facility staff members. Results showed that the program was beneficial to students and the center. Although students learned to play string instruments, rehearse in an ensemble, and perform in public, they also reported feeling a sense of achievement and increased personal potential. In addition, students and staff members noted students’ improved communication skills, increased frustration tolerance, perseverance, and behavior regulation as a result of participating in the string program. Reported benefits to the center included pride in student success, community development within the center, the staff’s increased sense of making a difference, and positive press.

show abstract

When I Run in My Bare Feet: Music, Writing, and Theater in a North Carolina Women’s Prison

Cited by 11 publications

References 3 publications

The Limits of Rehabilitation and Recidivism Reduction: Rethinking the Evaluation of Arts Programming in Prisons

The Limits of Rehabilitation and Recidivism Reduction: Rethinking the Evaluation of Arts Programming in Prisons

Art and Mindfulness Behind Bars: Examples From Wyoming Prison-Based Courses on Memoir and Stoic Philosophy

Beyond the Corner: Introducing a String Music Program to Youth in Detention

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About