News in brief

Polynesian Arts Creation course

The beautiful creations produced during a Polynesian Arts Creation course at Spring Hill Corrections Facility were the result of
a constructive intervention programme at the Pacific Focus Unit.

Through arts and crafts, 27 Pacific prisoners learned how to take instructions from strangers and were taught how to respond if they didn’t agree with the instructions. They were challenged to consider how they would respond if they were approached in the same way by someone in the community. The course tested their patience and how to manage their anger from a Polynesian perspective.

Aspects of the course taught them to reflect on traditional Pacific cultural values which many of them were brought up with. “It made some of them question where they went wrong to have ended up in prison,” says Regional Pacific Adviser Asenati Lole-Taylor.

The course taught other ideas, such as realising their potential and using the resources available to them. For some, the course was an opportunity to consider continuing with Polynesian art as a business venture on release from prison. “Flax and nikau leaves are all over the place; you don’t need start up capital for this type of art,” says Asenati.