HMPYOI Feltham



Creative Arts Programme
2017-present
We have been running creative arts workshops and programmes at HMP&YOI Feltham since 2017, both within education and on the residential wings. Our current programme, funded by HMPPS, is focussed on co-created murals on Feltham’s Incentivised Substance Free Living units.

Previous projects have included creative arts courses which engaged 60-70 young adults each year in creative activities such as painting, printing, mixed media, poetry, and more. The programmes core aim was to improve participants' wellbeing and confidence, equipping them with transferable skills to use beyond the course, such as communication skills, team building, perfectionism reduction, decentering and self-compassion.  It also served as a gateway to other education courses and enabled people with limited experiences of classrooms to navigate and be productive in that space. Participants described the sessions as empowering, therapeutic, and transformative. Working alongside prison staff, we focussed on those who were unemployed, or disengaged with programmes or not leaving their residential wing.  




“INYBB made regular contact, seeing how I was and asking me if I wanted to participate. I was often struggling with the challenges of the outside world - friendships, probation, work....Participating in things with family could feel pressured and I didn’t always feel understood. With INYBB I didn’t feel any pressure, they were a connection to where I had been and what I had experienced inside. They saw something in me, talent I'd forgotten I had. My ideas and opinions were valued. That was huge for me.”





“Art group is the most peaceful place in the whole prison. The sessions are like a stress reliever, they keep me calm and help me see and express things in better ways.”

Creativity in custodial settings can play a vital role in rehabilitation as well as making spaces less sterile. It helps people build relationships with both families and staff. It improves environments, making spaces warmer and calmer. It provides a safe way to manage feelings and emotions and doesn't hold people in the past but allows them to imagine a new future. We have seen many people use creativity at Feltham to consider their identity and explore who they are and who they want to be with some joyful and life-changing results.   


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Send something you’ve created to someone you appreciate today. When it’s not your birthday but just an ordinary day, it feels even more special to receive something unexpected that someone has made just for you.

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