Behind the cell door: Exploring how enhanced opportunities for self-led creativity impact on the mental wellbeing of adults living in prison.

这项研究将探讨创造性的“在牢房里”的机会对生活在监狱里的成年人的幸福感的影响。以社会参与的博物馆实践为框架（Chynoweth， 2021年），它将研究植根于监狱“非法”制造传统的创造力（国际红十字会，2017年），利用在监狱环境中制作的博物馆文物作为连接和生活体验洞察力的催化剂。这项研究是在英国监狱长时间限制Covid - 19之后进行的，人们每天被关在牢房里长达23小时（英格兰和威尔士监狱首席检查员2021-22年度报告）。这种经历的乏味，以及缺乏刺激来摆脱监禁，导致心理健康状况不佳，三分之一的囚犯表现出严重焦虑症的症状（用户之声，2022年）。随着“监禁时间”的增加，监狱中的自残事件达到了有记录以来的第二高水平，在2021年每年发生55,542起（Bromley Briefing, 2022）。有充分的证据表明，“艺术对改善刑事司法系统中人们的生活有着深远的影响”（国家刑事司法艺术联盟，2019年），研究证明了团体和从业者领导的治疗、康复和教育艺术的积极影响。该项目填补了探索“其他类型”（Fleetwood, 2020）创造性创造力的空白，特别关注自我主导的细胞内创造力，与在受限制的制度下进行的恢复效益有关。调查将以以下研究问题为指导，探索如何在牢房门后获得丰富的创造性机会，可能会改善监狱中成年人的福祉：成年人在监狱牢房里做什么，出于自己的意愿，为了什么，为了什么目的？为闭门造车的自我主导创造机会，对健康有什么好处？是什么阻碍了监狱制度改善人们在牢房里制毒的途径和机会？当囚室门关闭时，哪些材料可能对发挥“创造性急救”的作用有用？我将运用自反性自我民族志方法（Ellis， C. et al ., 2011）为基础的定性探索性研究方法，以在五个混合安全监狱中生活和工作的成年人的生活经验为中心，确定在牢房中制作物品的相关性和影响。与70名囚犯和20名工作人员的交叉样本的个人访谈将与使用设计思维工具（Tschimmel, 2012）的博物馆物品和创造性材料的小组创意会议一起进行，以探索和绘制制作的情感影响。这项研究的意义在于，它有可能解决受监狱制作的博物馆物品启发而增加的牢房创造性机会如何对抵消“监禁对心理健康的有害影响”产生有益影响的问题（世界卫生组织，2021年）。我的目标是研究结果有助于博物馆研究和犯罪学领域的跨学科研究差距，支持社会参与博物馆实践和使用文物作为与监狱社区富有同情心的创造性联系的来源的研究（福斯特，2016年6月第4页），为HMPPS政策和福利战略的改进提供信息，并为生活在监狱中的人提供创造性的急救站。

This research will explore the impact of creative 'in-cell' opportunities on the wellbeing of adults living in prison. Framed by socially engaged museum practice (Chynoweth, 2021), it will examine creativity rooted in the heritage of 'illicit' making in prisons (International Red Cross, 2017), utilising museum artefacts made in prison settings as a catalyst for connectivity and lived experience insight. The research follows an extended period of Covid 19 restrictions in English prisons, with people confined to cells for up to 23 hours a day (HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2021-22). The tediousness of this experience, and lack of stimuli to take minds off confinement has contributed to rising levels of poor mental health with 1 in 3 prisoners showing symptoms of severe anxiety disorders (User Voice, 2022). With the increased 'cell-time', selfharm in prisons is at the second highest recorded level with 55,542 annual incidents in 2021 (Bromley Briefing, 2022). It is well documented 'that arts have a profound impact in improving the lives of people in the criminal justice system' (National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, 2019), with research evidencing the positive impacts of group and practitioner led Page 3 of 6 therapeutic, rehabilitative, and educational art. This project fills a void to explore 'other types' (Fleetwood, 2020) of inventive creativity, to focus specifically on self led in-cell creativity, linked to the restorative benefits of making within a restricted regime. The inquiry will be guided by the following research questions, exploring how access to enriched creative opportunities behind the cell door might improve the wellbeing of adults living in prison: What are adults making in prison cells, of their own volition, with what, for what purpose? What are the wellbeing benefits of enabling opportunities for self-led making behind closed cell doors? What is preventing prison regimes from improving access and opportunity for people to make in their cells? What materials might be useful in performing the role of 'creative first aid' when the cell door closes? I will apply qualitative exploratory research methods underpinned by a reflexive autoethnographic approach (Ellis, C. et al, 2011), centering the lived experience of adults living and working in five mixed security prisons to determine the relevance and impact of crafting objects in-cell. Individual interviews with an intersectional sample of 70 prisoners and 20 staff members will sit alongside small group ideation sessions using design thinking tools (Tschimmel, 2012) museum objects, and creative materials to explore and map the emotional impact of making. The significance of this study lies in its potential to address how enhanced creative opportunities in-cell, inspired by prison made museum objects might have beneficial impacts to counterbalance 'harmful impacts of imprisonment on mental health' (World Health Organisation,2021). I aim for findings to contribute to an interdisciplinary research gap in the fields of museum studies and criminology, support research into socially engaged museum practice and use of artefacts as a source of compassionate creative connection with prison communities (Forster, Page 4 of 6 2016), inform improvements in HMPPS policy and wellbeing strategies and provide pathways to creative first aid for people living in prison.