Juvenile Justice and Expressive Arts

Creative Disruptions through Art Programs for and with Teens in a Correctional Institution

Carol Cross

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781351190930
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

Juvenile Justice and Expressive Arts: Creative Disruptions through Art Programs for and with Teens in a Correctional Institution explores art programming as a sustainable educational initiative to support incarcerated teens' successful reintegration to society. Responding to a lack of scholarly research on juvenile offenders and the role of art as education in correctional facilities, Carol Cross presents a qualitative study that examines critical pedagogy, adolescent development, and research into the governance and policies surrounding youth at a Canadian correctional facility. Through observational and interview data, action research, and visual analysis, the reader gains an insider's perspective into the lives of teens affected by crime and violence and the potential of art education to aid in increasing their self-esteem, social and emotional wellbeing, and personal development. Visual art and written stories created by male and female juvenile offenders are woven throughout the chapters to illustrate the use of creative expression as education and therapy.

Suitable for scholars and researchers in juvenile justice and corrections as well as policymakers and practitioners in the field, this book will provoke dialogue on best practices for the rehabilitation and reintegration of institutionalized children and youth.

Chapter 1

Introduction to the Study

Background

Visual culture is an integral part of everyday lives and identities. Many forms of knowledge are accessible only through non-verbal means. As a visual artist and art educator, I recognize the importance of art programs that go beyond the creation of art objects. There is an essential role for art education in communities and unlimited potential for building collaborative partnerships that contribute to the strengthening of democratic communities.

My research interests include exemplary social programs in which adolescents are exposed to the arts in community-based settings and the role of artistic interventions, exposing participants to art in alternate settings where a new educational orientation and dialogue can begin. The key point is that within these particular settings, social service organizations have structures and ways of viewing youth as key assets and they strive to create educational experiences and opportunities that empower young people. These organizations are transforming the way children and youth are engaged in and through the arts while promoting the value of the arts in young lives.

I strive to encourage the development of individual identity, self-expression, and creativity. This is accomplished through helping participants discover their unique vision and responding to each as an individual who brings with them their own set of life experiences and beliefs, regardless of their age (McFee, 1998; hooks, 1995). “Constructivism” refers to the idea that learners construct knowledge for themselves—each learner individually (and socially) constructs meaning as she or he learns. Constructivist learning theory dates back to American philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey, whose ideas have been influential in both education and social policy. Dewey (1916) believed that schools had to bring real world problems into the school curriculum. The Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1978) contributed the idea that learning and development are internally tied to communicative interactions with others and promoted learning contexts in which students played an active role in learning. I believe the context in which a concept is taught, as well as students’ beliefs and attitudes are important agents in the learning process. I see my role as an educator to introduce new ideas or cultural tools where and when necessary, and then provide support and guidance for participants to make sense of these for themselves. I then observe the ways in which the instructional activities are being interpreted for the purpose of understanding the youth and to determine how best to modify or advance the activities to become more effective and warrant their continued engagement.

This book, which I started writing in 2009, highlights my four years (2004 to 2008) working with adolescents in a correctional facility as a Youth Support Counsellor for the Province of BC, Canada. I begin this chapter by providing a brief history of how my experience working in Montreal, Quebec, and Vancouver, BC, in particular with teens labeled by their communities as “at risk,” helped me navigate the halls of “corrections.”

The term “at risk” labels a segment of the population deemed disenfranchised or dispossessed. It is important for me to share with the reader my caution about the potential harm that can be done to those assigned this label. Having said this, I am also sensitive to the need for certain organizations that recognize the economic and political importance of using the term in fundraising efforts. Over the past decade, many teens have shared their lives, stories, and art in my programs. This book is about those young people whose lives have touched mine—their words and art are interwoven throughout this book.

Community Art Education and the LOVE Project

The only way to stop violence is to open your mind and everyone’s mind.

(LOVE, Anonymous, age 15)

In 1999, I was contracted to set up a community organization targeting “at-risk” adolescents in Vancouver. The Leave Out ViolencE (LOVE) program originated in Montreal, Quebec and in 1999, received a one million dollar Millennium Grant. I visited Vancouver high schools introducing the program and became familiar with many alternative schools populated largely with “at-risk” teens. This program assisted young people whose lives have been affected by violence. It is unique in using photography and writing to raise awareness of violence as a social problem. My own involvement with writing and drawing helped me as a teenager to define myself and continues to be a constant presence in my life. Having a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a background working in various community organizations, it was an exciting and challenging proposition to bring the Montreal model to Vancouver.

In 2000, I negotiated an arrangement with Langara College to use facilities there. We offered a place for teens to gather in a classroom and were given access to the journalism department’s two small (unused) photo labs to process film, print photographs, discuss issues of importance to the youth, and to write about these issues. Equipped with donated cameras, a supply of black and white film, chemistry and enlarging paper, pens and notebooks, teens focused on three themes: The causes of youth violence; the impact on all of our lives; and possible ways we can eliminate it.

Although teens were referred to the program by teachers, community social workers, and sometimes their probation officers, their participation in the LOVE project was completely voluntary. For the first intake, 20 teens were selected and met after school at Langara College twice a week for two semesters to learn photography and creative writing. Upon successful completion (80 percent class attendance), they were awarded the College’s Certificate of Completion at our Spring graduation ceremony where the photographic images and writings were exhibited. Family, friends, and community members were invited to attend the celebration.

Regardless of their personal histories, the teens came to each session with a commitment to try to reduce the incidence of youth violence. Still in operation a decade later, the Vancouver program’s continuing success affirms my belief in the potential of programs that enrich people’s lives and in particular, art programs that lead to positive social change. In an issue of Monday Magazine (November 30–December 6, 2006) an article appeared, titled, “Healing words: More than just entertainment, storytelling also offers a path to wellness.” Writer Sarah Gignac reported that a former LOVE writing teacher Andrea Warner had found this to be one of the most challenging and rewarding projects she had ever been involved with. “LOVE’s program not only gets youths dealing with their problems by writing about them, it also provides them with new skills and confidence in themselves” (p. xi). An annual gathering of LOVE takes place in Ontario at a summer camp where we attend workshops, build friendships and celebrate actively working together to help put an end to violence. The camp brings together approximately 70 teens and adults from its four Canadian centers: Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax.

In the unique and highly successful LOVE program there is an emphasis on social learning that takes place in a safe and supportive environment with positive adult role models. By taking art education to the community, we understand a place and role for art beyond the classroom and the gallery/museum (Cross, 2004; Becker, 1996).

My Master of Education in Art thesis, Reaching out: Community art programs as social intervention for “at-risk” youth (2002), focused on the social benefits of establishing sustainable community art programs like LOVE, and the wider issue of art education as social intervention. Art educator and Montreal LOVE co-founder, Stanley Chase, recently completed his Doctoral degree in 2008 at Concordia University. Chase’s thesis, Portraits from the war on young people: A case study analysis of participants from the Leave Out Violence (LOVE) photojournalism project, provides an in-depth description and analysis of teaching photojournalism in the community. He shares my feelings about art and activism for social change. Through my experience introducing and developing the LOVE BC program in Vancouver, I can attest to the benefits of programs like this that encourage youth to critically examine society in general and their communities in particular, through visual art activities.

Years earlier, while attending the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, I was introduced to a long tradition of artists using art to make statements on social issues: artists and activists who use art to advance the causes they care deeply about, hoping to persuade others to embrace and support their views. My involvement with the LOVE project provided me with the opportunity as an art educator to advance a cause I feel strongly about and to engage young people whose voices are under-represented in society, in seeking art-based solutions to social problems. Throughout the chapters, I will be introducing the voices of these youth—their words typed with italics.

Violence robs your soul. Violence threatens your life. With violence, you always have to look behind you. You can beat violence with love, friendship and peace.

(LOVE, Anonymous, age 16)

After establishing the LOVE program in Vancouver, I founded Chroma Zone Studios in 2001. Chroma Zone grew out of a need to fuse two passions—a studio practice of creating art for my own development and working as an artist/educator focusing on promoting social change through art programs with diverse communities and groups. Art can do this by encouraging communication about personal identity and social issues through exposure to workshops in visual and media arts, creative writing and critical thinking. Every generation faces the challenge of preserving, and hopefully improving, the quality of life in our communities. Through art education, critical thinking, and leadership training, youth can develop the skills they need to meet this complex challenge. I believe adolescents want and should have a voice in shaping their communities and their world. This is not to say that youth don’t speak but they are restricted from speaking in those spheres where public conversation shapes social policy (Giroux, 2003).

Art workshops can provide both engaging and invigorating ways of learning that capture attention and appeal to the many kinds of experiences that make today’s youth who they are. The arts have the ability to connect people to themselves, their culture, and their communities. These connections are fostered by developing individuality and confidence through creative activities and by positive social interactions achieved through collaboration. “One learns as well or better by doing as reading and listening. Education is not only a function of books, but a function of experience and connecting what one reads and hears by ongoing observation and experiences” (Delgado, 2006, p. 48). Richmond (2000) notes that “Giving youth responsibility and expecting accountability is at the core of most successful community youth development initiatives … young people are learning by doing, and the community and its youth are experiencing positive ripple effects” (p. 24).

Westhaven-Elmhurst Community Association

Montreal, Quebec

One year prior to accepting the contract at the custody center in Victoria, I implemented a research project to investigate the role of art and education in a community setting for teens. The site chosen, Westhaven-Elmhurst Community Association, is a non-profit organization that has been providing services in the borough of Notre Dame des Grace (Montreal) for over 30 years. Westhaven has a rich and vibrant history. I was born in this community. In 2003, when I began the project there, the center did not have a teen art program although there was a weekly teen drop-in night. The art project took place over the course of six weeks. A video recorder was on hand and during that time I kept a journal to record notes and comments. Reviewing my journal observations, I noted that the center was highly regarded by the teens, providing them with a safe and supportive environment to socialize. Comments from the youth participants indicate their comfort and appreciation:

• It’s some place where a teen or any kind of kid can have lots of fun … and if you’re in some kinda trouble, it’s not like going to a youth worker.

• It’s a place where I can come and meet my friends … this facility provides you with the space to do pretty much what you like to do. It’s chill and I like to play ball. I’ve made friends here.

When asked what he learned at Westhaven that he didn’t or couldn’t learn at home or school, one teen responded:

I learned how to respect people, the other teens’ cultures and everything. This is a multicultural center and I learned how to deal with problems and how to keep my cool … certain things, you know. I just turned 18 last week, and I am now an adult and I would like to volunteer here at the center.

(Personal interview, March 2004)

Art Education for Youth in Custody

Victoria, BC

Locked up in a room where they keep you away from your life like a pause, a consequence, a rock bottom experience. Put you in a place where the trees laugh at you, the walls breath heavy and your brain runs faster than a flash. “What ifs” are going through your head, and as the walls breathe louder and louder your dreams become more real … now I have to face my consequences. This took more than my summer away—took time away from friends, moments with family, and Kodak pictures with my girl. And I look back and think—was it worth it …? You’re locked away; not gone.

(Victoria Youth Custody Centre, Anonymous)

In 2004, Chroma Zone Studios was awarded a four-...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright page
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Preface
• 1 Introduction to the Study
• 2 Youth in Custody
• 3 Art as Education and Therapy: Its Benefits for All Youth
• 4 Methodology and Method
• 5 The Projects
• 6 Analysis and Discussion
• Postscript
• Appendix A: Youth Custody Average Counts—Year to Date January 2008
• Appendix B: The Interview Questions
• Appendix C: Teen Participant Consent Form
• Appendix D: A Reflective Letter from a Role Model—Patrick Rafferty
• Appendix E: Samples of Arts and Crafts
• Appendix F: Self-Directed Samples
• Appendix G: Samples of Murals
• Appendix H: Samples of The Outside Guide Research Project
• References
• Index