The role of art in the rehabilitation of youth offenders
Posted on | 1/21/11 | No Comments
I was a volunteer guide/translator and then an intern at a gallery in Albuquerque by the name of 516arts a few years ago. This gallery is (was?) a non profit and focused on education rather than sales. They had a very strong education program. I think the coordinator has since left the art world, overwhelmed by the same sense of disillusionment that attacks so many young artists. But before then I learned a great deal from him. One of his (in my opinion) most important projects was a program he set up with a local juvenile detention center to have groups of these young boys brought to the gallery. These were as far as I know, low level youth offenders, not say, murderers or repeat offenders, so they had field trip priviledges. Sadly, the man from the detention center told us that around 80% of these kids were back in the center before a year had passed. This was seriously crushing for me even though I only saw most of these kids once and I was only able to participate maybe 4 times. Today I am going to describe what we would do and why I believe in this type of project and it's role in the rehabilitation of offenders. I also believe it wouldwork with adults and I hope I get a chance to pursue it again at a later date.
The kids, all boys between 12 and 19 (most around 15) would be brought in by bus after a day of activity and running around, so most were already grouchy and trying very hard to not be impressed. They didn't want to be there and couldn't see the point of it, but they knew they had to be on their best behavior so they could participate in the next outing. The boys would be seperated in groups of 3 or 4 and taken around the gallery where we would show them the art and try to make it meaningful for them. They would get to ask questions about the art and artists and then they would leave.
This discription doesn't really explain much though, so now I will tell you what I did and why and the results of it.
There are two men who bring the boys, one white young man who volunteers with Americorps and an older Native man who kept the boys in line. The gallery's education coordinator, another priviledged white male (his words, not mine) and myself, the only non male, non white person who worked at the gallery. This made me an instant minority which may have helped since of the group of 15-20 boys invariably there were only one or two white boys, a similar number of black boys (shocking in this area that has a very tiny black population) and the rest were Native or Hispanic. I would usually have the boys keeper stay with my group at first but he would invariably end up with the one of the other groups. The other guides and the edu. coordinator would generally give the kids the same tour that they would anyone else, a well educated tour using some complex terms but very little depth or analysis of the work. I had a rather different style and in my opinion it worked best when we were showing politial work. I would take advantage of my similarities with the students (poor, non white minority who grew up in a crappy area) to convince them to "feel" the art. They would usually start off being sarcastic or smart alecky and saying rude or sexist comments which I ignored at first (if necessary I would respond in an appropriate manner depending on the kid, usually just showing that I wouldnt take shit and they would be kicked out if they didnt STFU, but this was always a last resort and rarely necessary). What I noticed is that the kids respond best to honesty. They could tell that for me the art wasnt just a pretty picture like it was for the other guides and they could also tell that I wasn't educated in the same Western-centric manner that exoticisizes other types of art. Essentially I would hold them all hostage in front of a painting until they felt something and if they didn't I would tell them what I felt. One of my favorite moments was when all three groups met in front of one print and the other guides were giving history and so on. I asked my kids what it made them feel and what they thought it said. The image was of a cross type shape with flames (I cant remember the name of it, I will add it later if I remember) and the title was something political. For me it was a very obvious reference to racism and this countries violent history, while my white peers were arguing quite forcefully that it was definitely not and that it was something to do with religion. The kids were watching us in real surprise, as much because we were arguing as that art could have many different interpretations. I think I eventually stole the floor and told them all that niether of us were wrong because the only value art has is the individual value we each put into it. And then I asked my group WTF they were doing and why and told them I never wanted to see them again (in that context). I think I convinced one or two to become artists by telling them to not waste their lives and instead express their anger in art and show the world what they felt instead of hurting themselves. I never found out what happened to the kids afterward. But I remember that once my entire group shook my hand, of their own accord, those rude little punks who had made vulgar comments just an hour before. That moved me and still does and I hope I am worthy of the respect those kids showed me. The kids minder also thanked me and shook my hand and the art educator told me something about planting seeds and that you can't see what grows. I dont know if anything has but I sure hope so.
Anyway, I don't think this is as clear as my usual posts but it is something that is difficult for me to explain.
I think, if you can put yourselves on an equal level with kids like these, instead of looking down at them and trying to "educate" them, they respond really well. Most don't like the life they live but they have no other options. Give them the gift of art, real art, not art-speak bullshit. They feel, most just can't find a safe way to show it. I think art gives them power and the ability to control some aspect of their lives, however small.
If any of you decide to start or participate in a program like this, please tell me about it & if you want info or advice, leave a comment with your email and I will contact you :)
