One of the organisation's core objectives is to ensure the sustainable provision of services: we recognise that all too often, services targeted on marginalised groups take the form of short-term or pilot schemes.

For the professionals who deliver the work, this can often mean that their own development goes neglected as well. Escape Artists follows an integrated approach, whereby we invest in people who have the commitment to provide projects which are responsive and flexible, designed to meet the needs of clients and offer paths to further networks of support and development.

Training, therefore, is an integral part of working in partnership, and of ensuring that all parties involved in providing a service have access to the most relevant, up-to-the minute information.

For people new to working within prisons we recommend that they attend either the drama inside or the music inside workshops. These workshops are very hands-on and are led by practitioners with many years experience of working within the secure estate.

For those that already have experience of working with the arts in the criminal justice sector, but who are looking to extend their skills, we suggest that the following courses might be of interest: our newly developed 5 Day Accredited Training Programme and Delivering Accredited Courses in the Secure Estate,

If your particular interest is in working through the arts with people with disabilities, then the Assistive Music Technology workshop should appeal to you. This workshop addresses the challenges involved in working through words and music with severely disabled people, and demonstrates how the latest technology can provide wonderful new opportunities for creative expression.

More information on how we endeavour to work in partnership with artists in Our Role.

If you are interested in any of the following training or workshop programmes, and would like to be kept informed about all our upcoming courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:training enquiry form.

If you are responsible for staff and/or student development in your organisation, and you would like to know how we can deliver our training programmes in your place of work or study, then please call us on 020 7655 0909.

Further Resources

In 2005 Escape Artists was commissioned by the Anne Peaker Centre to create Joining the Dots - a website dedicated to arts organisations and artists working in the field of crime prevention. The website features a searchable database and examples of good practice in the field. It is a resource for anyone involved in the sector, including local authorities, Probation Services and Youth Offending Teams.

In the same year Escape Artists was also commissioned by The Anne Peaker Centre to create Arts on the Out, the first website dedicated to providing information to ex-offenders wanting to get involved in the arts. The site offers advice on:

• How to access arts activities in the community
• Training and employment in the arts
• Financial support and funding
• Useful links to support agencies and arts organisation

Designed to be user friendly and fun, the website also features video and interviews of ex-prisoners now working as successful artists and willing to share their experience.

For those who wish to learn more about the different approaches to working with drama in prisons Escape Artists has produced, through the support of the European Socrates programme, Barred Voices: an analysis of UK prison drama practice with an introduction by Phil Wheately, Director General of the Prison Service.

For more information on Escape Artists role in developing resources for arts practitioners and ex-offenders please see our research section.

We have recently created a 5 day training programme for arts practitioners who wish to learn about applying their skills at the social margins.

This course is currently undergoing accreditation and should be ready for delivery in early 2008.

If you would like to be kept informed about this course, and all our other upcoming training courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:

Training Enquiry Form

To find out more about how Escape Artists seeks to develop its role with artists please follow this link

This training is primarily for drama practitioners with little or no experience of working in the secure estate, who are interested in developing their current practice for use in this context.

Drama Inside is a one day training workshop approaching the issues involved in delivering drama activities to imprisoned adults and young people through participatory exercises and performances.

The training covers such issues as:

• Security: CRB & other clearances, policies, health & safety, risks
• Getting your work in: materials & content management
• Being inside: what support can you expect from prison staff
• Serving all parties: prison needs vs. prisoner needs
• Working the work: negotiating between real & ideal artistic practice
• the structure of the Criminal Justice System
• volatile group dynamics
• energizing apathy
• staying close and keeping your distance: gender, sexuality and relating
  

The workshop features performances of two short pieces regularly performed in prisons, theatres and other spaces, together with hot-seating exercises, Q&A and insights into how they operate in a secure context: Trash by Pedro R Monge-Rafuls and Outsiders by Steve McArthur.

Facilitators: Chris Streeks is an ex-prisoner who, since his release, has spent 5 years working with drama in prisons and theatres throughout the UK.

If you would like to be kept informed about this course, and all our other upcoming training courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:

Training Enquiry Form

To find out more about how Escape Artists seeks to develop its role with artists please follow this link

Guardian article

A workshop exploring a raft of techniques and instruments encompassing composition, collaboration and performance - providing musicians with a lively participatory introduction to the issues involved in delivering music-infused activities to imprisoned adults and young people.

Facilitator: Simon Gunton is a versatile musician, who has worked as a composer and performer with professional orchestras all over the world, as well as delivering music-infused workshops in prisons and schools for the last ten years. He brings his infectious enthusiasm and eclectic musical expertise to this workshop.

If you would like to be kept informed about this course, and all our other upcoming training courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:

Training Enquiry Form

To find out more about how Escape Artists seeks to develop its role with artists please follow this link

Guardian article

For the last 12 months the company has been working with the Engineering Department at Cambridge University to develop new ways of enabling severely disabled people to communicate through music. The fruits of this research are now finding practical application in Escape Artists' music workshops with patients at Sue Ryder Care. 

If you would like to be kept informed about this course, and all our other upcoming training courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:

Training Enquiry Form

Escape Artists' workshops at Sue Ryder Care are supported by:

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Press Release

Designed for experienced Arts Practitioners (of any discipline) who are committed to socially inclusive practice, and who are in need of guidance and support on how to develop their work within the secure estate and other socially marginalised settings.

The workshop looks at possible progression routes from both artistic and educational perspectives.

Issues covered:

• working in partnership - is it a good idea?
• who's who in the world of prison theatre
• sector-wide developments (PLUS, PCEP) and how they will impact on arts practice
• working and training abroad
• an overview of european prison theatre and current research
• running accredited arts courses
• promoting your work within the sector
• contributing to the Edge Festival, Rome (theatre and film)
• funding opportunities - the way things are moving
• starting your own socially inclusive arts company (the pros and cons)
• finding work with Escape Artists, Insight Arts and other companies

If you would like to be kept informed about this course, and all our other upcoming training courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:

Training Enquiry Form

To find out more about how Escape Artists seeks to develop its role with artists please follow this link

Guardian article

This one-day training day equips practitioners with the basic tools they need to deliver our accredited courses in prisons, YOI’s and the wider community. The delivery of accredited courses largely within the secure estate, forms the core of our educational work; accreditation is in high demand within the secure estate and beyond, and the company aims to be able to provide freelance employment, delivering our OCN courses, to many of those who complete this training.

These are the current OCN courses that the company delivers:

Music and Literacy - Entry Level or Level 1

Using music as a tool for raising literacy levels. It is delivered through music composition sessions in which participants are encouraged to write their own lyrics and create an original piece of music.

Pre-employment Training – Level 1 or Level 2

This course is especially suited to those who have had very little success in the job market. Through the use of drama techniques it is designed to enhance social skills, giving the participants the confidence to handle job interviews and the workplace.

Drama Performance - Level 1 or 2

Our Drama Performance course aims at introducing participants to drama techniques and to support them in developing creative thinking and transferable skills.

Our OCN course in Music and Maths will also be available soon.

If you would like to be kept informed about this course, and all our other upcoming training courses, then please add your name to our database by filling in this form:

Training Enquiry Form

To find out more about how Escape Artists seeks to develop its role with artists please follow this link

Guardian article