In 2021 HMP Huntercombe invited us to collaborate with them to create a training package that would enable staff and prisoners to explore experiences of racism and to interrogate some of the cultural barriers that exist between the two groups.
A series of initial research and development sessions with different focus groups within the prison was followed by deeper exploratory sessions with a group keen to work creatively through some of the issues which had been uncovered.
Ultimately the group devised a performance that was shown to a live audience of prisoners and staff and also filmed, providing a longer-term resource for the establishment. The project generated significant conversation and provoked debate within the establishment about issues of racism and, whilst solving the issue was clearly beyond the scope of the project, this has provided the prison with a firm foundation on which to build future initiatives.
