I applied for, interviewed, and have just been appointed one of their Arts Mentors. After some training, I will be matched to someone who did well in the Koestler awards and is due to come out of prison. The mentoring lasts for a year for each mentee, and is a process to support them in their artistic pursuits, possibly towards a creative career.
It will of course be challenging for me - I have never stepped foot in a prison before. I think when I was younger I would have found this role more difficult - I would have perhaps over empathised or been too sensitive. Now I think I am robust enough to deal with eventualities.
I am convinced of the therapeutic value of art at all levels of involvement. Therapeutic, redemptive, philosophical, psychological.
10th March 2012
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