Here you will find: links to a number of socially inclusive arts organisations in the UK and abroad, links to organisations that are concerned with the development of arts and social inclusion, and research papers and reports that engage with issues within the field.

If you know of a link that we should include on this page, or if you would like to link to us, then please contact info@escapeartists.co.uk.

More extensive links to organisations working within the field of arts and social inclusion, especially within the criminal justice sector, can be found at the Joining the Dots website.

Prisoners and ex-offenders can find information on the arts, including where to find training, support organisations and more, on the Arts on the Out website.

The Anne Peaker Centre is the UK national umbrella organisation that supports the development of the arts within criminal justice settings.

The Anne Peaker Centre also manages and maintains:

Art on the Out an online resource for ex-offenders interested in the arts

Joining the Dots an interactive online resource for professionals working within the criminal justice system

Pan is an international information exchange for all those working with the arts in prisons and the criminal justice system.

The Network evolved out of a series of meetings between people working in the arts in prisons supported by funding from the European Commission's Culture 2000 programme.

A summary history of meetings of the Prison Arts Network, including links to the organiser's websites, is available here: Prison Arts Network

The Prison Arts Network information exchange is here

CETEC is an Italian theatre organisation that works primarily in prisons and with ex-prisoners. CETEC is currently organising Edge Workshops in Rome in partnership with Escape Artists for presentation in Summer 2007.

Theatre and Jail in Europe, which is a Socrates funded project, has the purpose of creating an active and visible 'space for discussion' about the status of jails in Europe, prisoners' rehabilitation and redevelopment systems.

The Theatre in Jail website

More about Escape Artists role in the project

Cambridgeshire has a range of arts activities for people of all ages and tastes. This page contains a simple list of what's out there.

Cambridge Arts Directory

The recently established Creative Methods Network aims to provide academics, researchers and practitioners in health and social care with a forum where they can explore, theorise and promote the use of creative methods in educational and research practice.

The Prison Arts Foundation was founded at the end of 1996. Its aim is to release the creative self of all prisoners, ex-prisoners, young offenders and ex-young offenders in Northern Ireland using all of the arts and crafts including writing, drama, fine art, craft, music and dance. LINK

Context Theatre is an association of theatre practitioners, founded in 2002 by Claire Pamment (dramaturg) and Zoe Svendsen (director), promoting a working methodology that places dramaturgy at the forefront of practice in order to re-establish the connection between the play and the political and social world in which it takes place.

TiPP work from the belief that theatre and related arts have the power to transform people’s lives. We develop and implement participatory arts projects and undertake training for artists and for professionals working in the Criminal Justice System.

Creating productions & events using theatre, film and music for and with people of all ages

Geese Theatre Company is a team of specialised theatre practitioners dedicated to working with active dramatic techniques within the Criminal Justice System. We are committed to the use and development of theatre as a powerful rehabilitative and motivational tool in work with offenders and young people at risk. We seek to explore a wide range of pertinent issues in a variety of settings and we work throughout the United Kingdom.

Graeae is Britain’s foremost theatre company of people with physical and sensory impairments. Founded in 1980 by Nabil Shaban and Richard Tomlinson, Graeae has built up a reputation for producing high quality work and is now a respected theatrical voice with audiences, theatre workers, critics, the arts establishment and the disabled community.

Cardboard Citizens is the UK's only homeless people's professional theatre company. The company specializes in making Forum Theatre, but has broadened in to the provision of a range of performance-based cultural actions with, for and by homeless and ex-homeless people.

Clean Break uses theatre for personal and political change, working with women whose lives have been affected by the criminal justice system.

Since 1991, CandoCo has played a significant role in integrated dance education, creating opportunities for participation on an international scale. 6,000 people worldwide participate in CandoCo’s education programme every year.

Dance United uses contemporary dance to inspire marginalised and socially excluded people to realise their full potential, and help them challenge the cycles of misunderstanding, prejudice and abuse in which they are often trapped.

BRITISH COUNCIL - ARTS FOR DEVELOPMENT

These pages give an overview of the UK's experience in arts work which has a social development aspect, and describe some of the projects we are touring internationally that contribute to social change.

The DCMS's aim is to improve the quality of life for all through cultural and sporting activities, to support the pursuit of excellence and to champion the tourism, creative and leisure industries.

New Audiences was set up to encourage as many people as possible, from all backgrounds and every walk of life, to participate in and benefit from the arts. Arts Council England invested £20 million in the programme, over five years, from 1998 to 2003.

This section contains papers and reports that might be of interest to students, practitioners within the field of arts and social inclusion, and professional researchers. None of the material that follows, or is linked to, is owned by or reflects the views of Escape Artists.

All the material that follows, or is linked to, is either already in the public domain or has been made available with the consent of the author.

If you are the author of a research paper, and you would like us to include it here, then please email it to us, preferably as a pdf or Word file, and we will do our best to upload it as soon as possible. Escape Artists retains the right not to publish material submitted to this website, without having to say why - that's just the way it is!

The Theatre of Prison by Michael D. McCamish

The PAT 10 Report a UK Government report on arts and sport

The Youth Justice System in the UK a draft summary by Angus McLewin

The arts and young people at risk of offending an Arts Council publication

Lifeline that failed victim of system by Nick Davies of the Guardian

More links in The Wider Context

THE THEATRE OF PRISON: POWER AND RESISTANCE, FAMILY AND THE PRODUCTION OF ILLEGALITY, STARRING THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
by
Michael D. McCamish

A Dissertation Submitted to the faculty of the California Institute of Integral Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY with a concentration in Social and Cultural Anthropology.

click here to download (this is a large, 12MB, pdf document)

If you would like to cite from this paper or know more about Michael's research then please email him at mmccamish@mindspring.com