Experience Arts in Detention: An Internal Look at HERSTORY ... · development and inspirational artists. Bringing compassion to this time period in their lives offers them hope. •One

Experience Arts in Detention: An Internal Look at HERSTORY: UNLOCKED

Hannah HawcroftUniversity of Michigan Flint

Criminal Justice, Sociology, & Anthropology/Theatre and Dance Emma Davis

What is HERSTORY: UNLOCKED?• The purpose of HERSTORY: UNLOCKED Project is to empower girls to share

their unique stories, “connect with the history of their communities and take ownership of their futures” (Girls, 2018).

• Overall empathy is a major goal of Youth Arts: Unlocked (YAU) mission. The students grow in understanding other perspectives through character development and inspirational artists. Bringing compassion to this time period in their lives offers them hope. • One way of enacting humanity is through asking the youth to name themselves

which, “free[s] their creativity and provide[s] them with the ability to re-invent themselves during each workshop” (Rosenbaum & Spivack, 2014, Ch 4 p. 41).

The Programs - There is no boundary to the power of art.

• HERSTORY brings Dance, Spoken Word, and Visual Arts to girls at GVRC, a youth detention center in Michigan. I have observed each of these workshops since July 2019, and I will be sharing about their influences.

• However, they are also have establishing a Yoga program, which I have not witnessed/participated in. Additionally, a view of the community side of the equation will be covered.

• Youth can be viewed as challenging to court counsel and difficult to understand. However, every person goes through growing and learning stages that shape their character. “[G]ender-specific differences among delinquents exists and have a significant impact on their treatment and management within the juvenile justice system” (Covington & Bloom, 2001, p. 3)

• In many cases, girls in the juvenile justice population have needs that go unaddressed, such as dealing with trauma and mental health concerns (“I am the Voice”, 2018, p. 1). “Girls in the justice system often have severe histories of trauma, physical violence, sexual exploitation, and substance use” (Weemhoff & Stanley, 2014, p. 17).

Why have programs? - There is hope for healing.

Hope for Healing cont. • Art is very beautiful and tells a story. Each story reflects the

uniqueness of the artist’s intentions and the original interpretation by the viewer. • I have witnessed this in working with the boys and girls programs of Youth

Arts: Unlocked. “[A]rts engagement can be therapeutic in itself” (Development Services Group, 2016, p. 2).

• The youth are able to express themselves and understand that even if the message is not directly stated, that it can still speak what they are feeling. At the same time arts can speak to others and connect to their perspective based on how the words or colors impact their view of the whole.

Individual Needs• The background and needs of individuals are not simple. “Young people

who have committed crimes should be held accountable for their actions. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge the strikingly difficult life circumstances these youth share in order to properly design rehabilitative services and prevent future reoffending” (Weemhoff & Stanley, 2014, p. 9). The needs they have differ along with where they come from, whether self-impacted or part of the environmental circumstances they have been nurtured with. • Taking into consideration that youth in detention are more than their offense(s) can

go a long way to helping create change in communities beginning locally with individuals. Recognizing the present and future potential each youth has, such as by listening and speaking appropriate affirmation to their goals, can influence a youth’s self-esteem and their view of others.

Experiencing what they are experiencing brings me encouragement that the activities have meaningful impact.

• The youth have grown in bonding with the teaching artists who represent mentors and with whom they feel comfortable sharing some of their experiences. • The pieces that the girls create can be a means to “express the horrendous

experiences they have survived” shared Youth Arts: Unlocked Director Shelley Spivack (Taylor, 2017). Some of these experiences may include “sexual abuse, battering, teenage pregnancy, single parenthood, and disparity in educational, vocational, and employment opportunities” (Covington & Bloom, 2001, p. 1).

• Their cognitive abilities are also still in the developmental stages, and “youth are very amenable to rehabilitative programs and behavior modification” (Weemhoff & Stanley, 2014, p. 7). Depending on the day, participation can vary from very engaging and asking for more time to doing a minimal effort. • When interested in the main activity of the workshop the girls may ask lots of questions and

want to know more about the inspiring artist and how the different parts were made. Other times, they may value their alone time to focus on their project, which can uncover an amazing skill level in the revealed project.

Pride of creating their pieces

• In the times where teaching artists and interns work one-on-one with the youth, the appreciation that comes to light in their faces is noticeable. They are proud to share some of the pieces they created. • The process of writing proved to be cathartic for the young women.

(Rosenbaum & Spivack, 2014, Ch 4 p. 50).

• Dance is different because there is not usually documentation of an internal expression. However, since this is less common it can be powerful when done. “Dance and movement fosters a sense of agency that can enable youth to express themselves without needing to use words, as well as help ground and facilitate effective, emotional self-regulation” (Lapum, J.L., Martin, J., Kennedy, K. , Turcotte, C. & Gregory, H., 2019 p. 568).

• Some of the girls are more reluctant to participate in coming up with dances moves. Others are excited and do freestyle movements in between instructions. I have observed girls who were really happy to have a space and permission to do cart wheels.

• Offering a space to move allows a healthy, safe, and fun way to let out energy. I am not much older than many of the youth, many ages 14-16. However, they are more familiar with popular moves and are pleased to share and demonstrate their skills. • Beginning in November 2019 ‘pass(ing) the woah’ was a consistently enjoyed warm-up activity.

‘The woah’ is a trendy move with added imagination following the toss as it passes through the air until the next person catches it, sometimes adding a quick freestyle move before the next pass.

Dance

Dance cont.• In a more typical dance setting performances are recorded by

supporters such as, parents/guardians and/or friends, and the dance class may have observers during practice.

• The youth participating in the HERSTORY program have an ‘audience’ of the other dancers-youth and teaching artists, the detention center’s youth supervisor, and myself. They create an original dance piece by the end of each workshop.

• Recently in Dance, February 2020, a group of youth were working on choreographing a collaborative dance and the girls initiated a request to record their work. (see next slide)

DanceHERSTORY February 2020

Pride In Performance

Spoken Word• Writing is a way to express experiences, process emotions, and reflect responses (Development

Services Group, 2016, p. 2). Youth Arts: Unlocked began providing Spoken Word workshops to the girls again in 2019, following a short break with no teaching artist. • HERSTORY dance and visual arts workshops continued to be offered on this break.

• During the pilot phases in 2012 the following observation was documented. After discussing the initial answers to the question about beauty and as the workshop progressed, “[t]he young women appeared to find comfort in realizing that they were really no different than the people they idolize” (Rosenbaum & Spivack, 2014, Ch4 p. 52).

• One of the powerful spoken word pieces from the 2016 session is on the youth-arts-unlocked.org website, which is a short video clip with the theme of leadership. During 2019-2020 as a research assistant, I witnessed similar emotion when discussing young leaders. In February 2020, each youth was offered the chance to share what impact they want to have on the community and who is an inspiration to them. A follow-up question “what is one trait or thing that you want to replicate from them?” was asked by the teaching artist. Their responses helped to provide direction into their spoken word pieces.

Spoken WordInspirational Pieces

February 2020

Spoken Word

“BE A LEADER” VIDEO 2016

https://www.youth-arts-unlocked.org/girls-workshops-herstory-unlocked/

Teaching Artists

• The environment of the all-female workshops allows for open discussion versus co-ed participants (Rosenbaum & Spivack, 2014, Ch4 p. 40). Even when the girls were housed on co-ed wing and the workshops remained all female, “the result was an inevitable change in the dynamic of the session” (Rosenbaum & Spivack, 2014, Ch 4 p. 45). Knowledge of what influences learning is important.

• “Addressing the needs of delinquent girls requires specialized staffing and training, particularly in terms of relationship and communication skills, gender differences in delinquency, substance abuse education, the role of abuse, developmental stages of female adolescence, and available programs and appropriate placements” (Covington & Bloom, 2001, p. 9).

• In recent workshops during my internship, July 2019 - March 2020, similar observations have been made regarding engagement, girls being distracted, and specifically there was more conversation by the girls about the boys. I noticed changes in attention levels in the session held at a location where boys could not be seen passing in the hallway. I also observed different behaviors in those sessions following the shift to a co-ed wing in 2020.

Visual Arts - a range of mediums including drawing, collages, sculpting, and painting.

• The girls worked together to create a large mural in the span of one workshop in Nov. 2019. They were able to enjoy the activity of painting while representing themselves and understanding the goal of the project. “Arts therapies have the ability to increase an individual’s awareness of the self and of others, cope with stress and traumatic experiences, and enhance cognitive abilities” (Development Services Group, 2016, p. 3).

• The creatures that were chosen for the piece differed from those the model, this session was taking inspiration from artist Pop Chalee, demonstrating the girls’ confidence in their uniqueness. They had reasons behind their selections, which included the snake representing fear and overcoming.

• I spent time working with one of the girls who needed assistance working on her portion of the mural. I enjoyed watching this creation build layer by layer.

Visual Arts

MURAL PICTURE November 2019

Visual Arts cont.• Survey responses can reflect the impact of a session. The following

are some of the youth responses from the activity described above: • ive learned to help more in groups• I feel like I can express how I feel • It can help with anything to help you calm down• It was very fun and it helped me feel better

• In a different session, the girls showed pride in a freestyle mural on drop cloth paper. The teaching artist reinforced this creativity by sharing with them that she would display the piece in her home art studio. Further this shows the bond that is developed between the teaching artists and the youth.

Community

• Part of the YAU program is displaying the youths’ art. “Bringing art to justice involved youth, and their work to the public” (Youth, 2018). Sharing their pieces is “a window, a portal, into the experiences of girls, and [reinforces] their hard work” (“I am the Voice”, 2018, p. 1).

• Some of the recent exhibits include: at the Genesee District Courthouse in January 2020, Good Beans Café in February 2020, and YAU is continuing to schedule future dates. Some works were also on display during a fundraiser at the Flint Crepe Company in December of 2019.

• YAU publishes a collection of the girls’ spoken word by year of composition that are available in digital format or print. The girls each receive a copy of the book with their pieces (Girls, 2018). Videos on the YAU website convey some insight into dance workshops and the boys theater program. The website also features photos of the boys’ and girls’ visual art pieces.

Community cont.• “Ideally, the mission of an arts-in juvenile justice program should not

simply be to provide skills based arts instruction to youth who are incarcerated or court-involved, but also to open the world of the arts to these youth by identifying or providing cultural resources in transitional settings so that the arts can become a consistent and constructive part of their lives” (Hillman, 2006, p. 5).

• No matter your age or physical location you can be creative. You have probably sung karaoke (in the shower?), doodled during a meeting or class, maybe even colored one of those kids menus. The arts are for everyone!

Conclusion• The opportunity to observe the impact of Youth Arts: Unlocked has shown

me providing a structured format for self-expression is a healthy outlet and can have a positive impact on mental health for both boys and girls. • This paper highlighted aspects from the girls program titled HERSTORY: UNLOCKED.

• Workshops focus on various ways of expression, empowerment, reinforcing the pride in the pieces that they create, and strengthening the way the youth see themselves.

• Further, Youth Arts: Unlocked supports the development of youth through teaching artists and interns who act as positive role models and by bringing the community opportunities to see their art.

• I have further plans to research the benefits of the arts and the lack of programs supporting special needs and mental health in the juvenile justice system.

References• Covington, S. S. & Bloom B. E. (2001). Effective gender-responsive interventions in juvenile justice:

Addressing the lives of delinquent girls. Presented at annual meeting of the American society of criminology.

• Development Services Group, Inc. 2016. Arts-based programs and arts therapies for at-risk, justice-involved and traumatized youths. Literature review. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

• Girls workshops herstory unlocked. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youth-arts-unlocked.org/girls-workshops-herstory-unlocked/

• Hillman, G. (2006) Arts programs for juvenile offenders in detention and corrections: A guide to promising practices. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Print.

• Lapum, J.L., Martin, J., Kennedy, K. , Turcotte, C. & Gregory, H. (2019) Sole expression: A trauma-informed dance intervention, Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 28:5, 566-580, DOI: 10.1080/10926771.2018.1544182

References• “I am the Voice: Girls’ Reflection from Inside the Justice System”. (2018) Print.

• Rosenbaum, J. L., & Spivack, S. (2014). Chapter 4 - Introducing a Gender-Based Program. In Implementing a Gender-Based Arts Program for Juvenile Offenders.

• Taylor, K (2017) Creative Freedom: Art gives detained youth an outlet for growth. The Hub Flint. Web. Accessed 06 March 2020.

• Weemhoff M & Staley K. (2014). Youth Behind Bars. Michigan council on crime and delinquency.

• Youth Arts: Unlocked. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.youth-arts-unlocked.org/

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the Youth Arts: Unlocked team for welcoming me in service with them. Thank you to Emma Davis for offering and sharing this Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program position. I am grateful to Director Shelley Spivack for seeing my potential and encouraging me. I enjoyed this opportunity.