Evaluation Title

Final evaluation of the Artist in Residence at HMP Grendon

Type of evaluation

Data type Qualitative and Quantitative

Evaluation Focus Confidence, Impact of programme, Personal development

Key indicators Confidence, prison environment, Role of artist, self-definition

Methodologies Assessment of social climate, Focus Groups, Interviews, Observation

Research limitations Only one artform, Sample size, Self-report data

Summary of evaluation

This report presents findings from the second half of a four year art residency at HMP Grendon. Through analysis of observational data, interviews, focus groups, and assessments of social climate with prisoners at HMP Grendon, this report concludes that the residency has promoted a number of positive outcomes. There is a growing recognition of the importance of social climate in the successful running of secure settings, and prisons in particular, but to date no research has formally assessed the role of the arts in this area. This evaluation has been particularly novel in investigating this.

Key Quote

The report concludes that the presence of the residency quantitativelyimproves the prison environment….and that participation in the residency enables individuals to begin toredefinethemselves, an important factor in working towards a successful, non-offending future.

Participant: ‘There is always the push to develop creatively. It has broadened our minds.’


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Arts Alliance Evidence Library