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Some Light In The Dull Grey Prison World
HMP Send and The Big Issue Workshops

The Big Issue Workshops for six women at Send Prison in April and May 2008 was a new initiative for Watts Gallery and has successfully taken G. F. Watts’s ethos of “Art for All” to a new audience.

Sandy Curry, Project Leader
The Fenton Arts Trust Artist in Residence at
Watts Gallery 2006-07
‘I have been impressed and inspired at how the participants rose to the challenge to create a body of work to exhibit, a daunting task for any artist! They have shown courage in their willingness to address subjects that expose their inner most thoughts or feelings and have been bold in their attempt to express their inner voice. The support they showed to each other, openly offering feed back and understanding, has given us all a creative dialogue which has been very rewarding for me. This project has had a big impact on the prisoners’ self-esteem, and with encouragement and the opportunity to exhibit their work can only lead them to positive new directions in life.’

Alicia - Participant
‘I have been studying art in prison for a few years now which, at times, can be a solitary experience; especially if you are doing a ‘distance learning’ course like I am – where the only contact you have with your tutor, is via the post! To be given the opportunity to join in with the Watts Gallery art project has been a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience for a number of reasons.I found that by looking at images of the art and sculpture that George Frederic Watts did, as well as being able to paint on canvas for the first time in my life, has been really inspiring for me. The ‘emotions’ that are captured in the expression of the eyes – as well as the body language of the people that Watts painted, gave me fresh ideas of what I wanted to draw and paint in order to share my thoughts, feelings and style of art with others. The artist Sandy and the other ladies who work at Watts Gallery who have shared the benefits of their experience with all of us at HMP Send have been really encouraging and made me feel ‘special’ once again, which is something to be treasured, as it
doesn’t happen that often in prison as a rule. It also shows me that there are people ‘out there’ who care enough about people in prison to give us an opportunity to prove that we can respond favourably if given some encouragement and financial backing to show what we are capable of producing. To the sponsors and all the people at Watts Gallery, who have given me the opportunity to participate in such an excellent art project, I would like to say a heartfelt thank you.’

Siwan - Participant
‘When I started this project and saw the quality of Watts and Sandy’s work I thought ‘oh shit, I’m in the wrong place – I can never produce work like that’. In the first session we all did a collage which I was very slow at and hardly covered half the paper.

Then when it came to finding something to paint it was panic stations all over again as I desperately looked around for inspiration. I based my picture on an image from a magazine and was really pleased with the end product. Most of the work was done in my cell which was awkward but still very enjoyable, relaxing and sometimes stressful! I’m very grateful to Sandy and all at Watts Gallery for giving us their time, patience, materials and this great opportunity to have our work displayed and hopefully enjoyed! Thanks.’

Clare - Participant
‘I have thoroughly enjoyed working on the Watts Gallery art project. It has been a fantastic experience meeting such wonderful, talented, caring and motivational people who have worked so hard to ensure that I have had all the creative tools and atmosphere to inspire me to produce some enlightening pieces of artwork. It has been an entertaining and yet productive experience and I feel privileged to have been chosen to take part in this ground-breaking scheme which has brought some light into the dull grey prison world. I am certain that Watts the artist, would have been delighted to see such a brilliant scheme taking place under the auspices of the Gallery he set up. From the initial chat through to developing the work and leading onto the finished pieces, I have felt supported and encouraged throughout. It has been great being part of such a tremendous team of women and I feel that women’s creative voices, which have been silenced for so long, are at last able to speak out and be heard.

The themes covered by Watts and alluded to in our work are issues that face us all at one stage or another in our lives and through these, are able to transcend the ordinary to produce extraordinary pieces of work. Such a positive experience opportunity can only motivate us further and spill over to other areas of our lives as our sensations become tuned in to the creative buzz. I hope this is the first of many opportunities to work with the Watts Gallery team and I wish to thank them and all those who have funded the project for allowing us the chance to be part of such a brilliant scheme.’   

The Big Issue Workshops are supported by
The KMPG Foundation, The Fenton Arts Trust and Lloyds TSB Foundation.