Inspiring Change

SCO Connect worked in partnership with Scottish Opera alongside Motherwell College and the Scottish Prison Service as part of an arts in prison project called Inspiring Change.

The consortium, led by Motherwell College and including the National Galleries of Scotland, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Opera, the Scottish Ensemble, the National Youth Choir of Scotland, the Citizens Theatre and the Traverse Theatre, was awarded funding from the Scottish Arts Council Inspiring Communities fund to take arts into prisons across Scotland.

Motherwell College, the project co-ordinator, is the lead provider of education in prisons in Scotland. The Scottish Prison Service was also a very active partner in the project which will work in Barlinnie, Greenock, Open Estate (Castle Huntly), Shotts and Polmont Young Offenders Institute.

Inspiring Change included a rigorous evaluation programme and the project also worked with communities in Scotland to ensure that prisoners will have opportunities to continue to develop skills and interests in the arts after release.

Inspiring Change was a unique collaboration. It is the first time in Scotland that so many arts organisations have come together for any reason, let alone to develop innovative practice with prisoners.

Visit the Inspiring Change micro-site here

Violinist Rosenna East reports on the Inspiring Change project in The Herald newspaper.

Motherwell College Principal and Chief Executive Hugh Logan:

"As the lead provider of prison education in Scotland, Motherwell College is proud to be involved in this innovative project and working with a wide range of Scottish arts organisations.

The College has been collaborating with the Scottish Prison Service to expand the current curriculum for offenders in custody. The project has a strong emphasis on the expressive arts and will use the arts to stimulate engagement with learning and improve literacy.

The project will culminate in an exhibition of all the work produced by prisoners participating in the project.

A final conference on the arts in prison will present the findings of research to assess how far arts projects enable the development of skills, attitudes and behaviours that might help offenders decide to desist from offending."

Roy McEwan, Managing Director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra:

"The Scottish Chamber Orchestra has a history of developing innovative work within the Scottish Prison system. This project enables unprecedented collaboration which, underpinned by rigorous evaluation, we hope will stimulate debate and lead to further projects and research"

Scottish Opera General Director Alex Reedijk:

"For the first time in Scotland, the role that the arts, and especially music, can play in the long term rehabilitation of prisoners will be fully evaluated, and we hope that this will lead to properly funded, permanent programmes of this nature"