Working in partnership with Unlock and HMP Oakwood, the project aimed to match men who are on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) with arts organisations in the West Midlands to undertake work experience placements. The project provided an opportunity for a wide spectrum of people, many of whom will not have had the chance to enter the arts sector, kick-starting conversations about how we can begin to build bridges between prisons and the creative industries.
The following film captures the project and highlights John’s* placement at The REP:
“There is no doubt of the amount of benefits that are achieved when prisoners can access ROTL; building family ties, reintegration into the wider community and gaining meaningful employment. The prospect of this project was very exciting for us, and we couldn’t wait to be part of it. Not only for the positive impact it would have on John but also for strengthening the knowledge around ROTL and the importance of rehabilitation and ours and prisoners’ experience and views of the arts industry. We have watched John grow and develop throughout the project, and we are now confident he will use these skills when released from prison later this year.”
Charlotte O’Brien, Head of Rehabilitation – HMP Oakwood
“Creative Licence has been an excellent opportunity for us to help bridge the gap between custody and community. We’ve spent over 35 years working with people in prisons and have always known that employability plays a significant role in enabling people to make a success of that transition. Hopefully this pilot project will show that not only is it possible to provide serving prisoners with placement opportunities but that it can be an enormous benefit to both the person taking up the placement and the arts organisation.”
Andy, Artistic Director – Geese Theatre Company
Professor Laura Caulfield and Dr Mary-Rose Puttick from the Institute for Community Research and Development at University of Wolverhampton, led on the learning and evaluation of the project, culminating in a report.
Read the report
To read a longer account of John’s experience on placement read the blog by Arts Council England.
Read the blog
We would like to thank everyone who has participated in Creative Licence and everyone who took part in interviews for this learning and evaluation project. We also thank all those who have helped us make the project happen: Professor Laura Caulfield and Dr Mary-Rose Puttick, Unlock, Birmingham Rep, Belgrade Theatre, HMP Oakwood, HMP Sudbury, Paul Stringer, Hollie Smith-Charles and Lizzy Emmerton, and everyone at Arts Council England.
The project was generously funded by Arts Council England.
*we have changed John’s name to protect their identity
