Wellington’s ROAR! Gallery showed the artwork of several prisoners from the region as part of its ‘Is Seeing Believing?’ exhibition in February.
“Art activities help prisoners make good use of their non-work time. Prisoners can also develop skills, such as persistence, which lead to better job skills,” says Manager of Programmes for Wellington Area Prisons Mary Stenton.
Gallery Manager Gaelen Macdonald says she could have sold some of the works several times over, though under present Corrections’ policy prisoners are not allowed to sell artworks unless they agree to the proceeds going to charity.
“The prisoners’ works are very powerful and visitors have been very interested in them,” she says.
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