HMP Moorland – HMP Lindholme – HMP Hatfield

My World, Anon, HM Prison Full Sutton, Gold Award for Drawing
Image Courtesy of the Koestler Trust

This was a combined event over the 3 Establishments in Doncaster.

HMP Moorland event was extremely well organised by Officers Jane Ayres and Debbie Freeman. The talk from Mrs Eva Clarke (Holocaust Survivor was recorded for prison broadcast and posterity by a small team of prisoners who were very professional.

HMP Lindholme a Cat C/D prison.

The exhibition was very well attended and much appreciated by all the visitors.

The guest speaker was again Mrs Eva Clarke who did a fantastic job in relating her story to both prisoners and staff at the prison. These 2 prison events were very emotional moments for Eva, as these were the first prisons that she had spoken in since the sad loss of her mother Anka in 2013.

HMP Hatfield

An open prison where there is a great emphasis on individual responsibility and rehabilitation back into the community. The men there did a wonderful job in guiding the exhibition, and as the finale to these events Dr Eva Schloss came up from London to give her talk there on the very last day of the event. Needless to say, it was a great success.

Many thanks to Mr Neil Moore, Chris Buttrick, and all the staff at Hatfield for making it such an enjoyable success.

We are especially grateful to Deputy Governor Tony Oliver of HMP Lindholme for initiating the 3 prison project, and to  #1 Governors David Bamford and Mahala McGuffie for all their support.

Thanks Tony!

‘All the way to Wayland’

Snowfields, Anon, Kibble Safe Centre, Pastels
Image: Courtesy of the Koestler Trust

Another first time event for the Anne Frank Prison Project. we were invited to bring our exhibition to HMP Wayland in Norfolk at the end of February this year. The programme was really good and we had a great bunch of prisoner guides, and great staff supporting the event.

Creative writing workshops were held with the prisoners by Leah Thorn. The Guest speaker for the closing event was Mrs Eva Clarke whose talk was greatly appreciated by all.

Many thanks to Deputy Governor Dodson and all the team at Wayland. 

Anne Frank Exhibition at HMP Deerbolt

Hakahookoo, Anon, Ashworth Hospital, Sculpture
Image: Courtesy of the Koetsler Trust

Our first visit to HMYOI Deerbolt, a Cat C young offenders prison in a picturesque location near Barnard Castle in County Durham.

Working with a group of enthusiastic group of young men who quickly grasped the relevance of Anne’s story to today, and who very ably presented the exhibition to all visitors including their peers.

The highlight of the event was a talk from Mrs Eva Clarke.

Eva was actually born in Mauthausen Concentration camp and miraculously survived. It is an extraordinary story, and she had the audience completely spellbound.

We would all like to thank Organisers Dave bates and Kati Cowley for doing such a great job.

                                                                                                                                 February 2014

HMP Ford hosts the Anne Frank Exhibition once again!

Communitree, Anon, HM Prison Cookham Wood, Bronze Award for Oil or Acrylic.   
 Image, Courtesy of the Koestler Trust

                                                       

We kicked off 2014 with a very welcome return to HMP Ford – an open prison which is very much involved in the re-socialization and rehabilitation of its prisoners. Many of the prisoners are allowed out of the gates each day to work in the community prior to their release.
 

This two week event was scheduled to coincide with this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations, and was especially poignant for everyone involved in the project. A group of nine prisoners were trained to present the exhibition to all visitors including prisoners, staff and prison Governors.

A Creative Writing workshop presented by Leah Thorn produced some very good poetry from the groups who attended. Steve Gadd (Prison Project Manager) presented two ‘Free 2 Choose’ debate sessions which were well attended, very lively and most enjoyable.
Our guest speaker was Dr Eva Schloss who spoke on the final day, needless to say it was very well received, and Eva was asked many interesting questions about her experiences by the audience. Eva also presented signed copies of her book ‘Eva’s Story’ to our exhibition guides and to staff and Governors.
 

Special thanks to Equalities Officer Tash Boughton for organizing this event, and for all her support throughout.

HMP Hewell - Hewell Grange - Redditch Library Host the Anne Frank exhibition

You're Getting Transferred, Anon, HM Prison Shotts, Highly Commended Award for Oil or Acrylic. Image courtesy of the Koestler Trust.

The events took a great deal of planning, but we had the rare opportunity of combining three separate events with HMP Hewell.In the first week we started the Anne Frank exhibition in the closed prison HMP Hewell. A group of dedicated and enthusiastic prisoners presented the exhibition to fellow inmates as well as staff, and were remarkable in their knowledge and communication skills. Everyone remarked how well they did.The event in HMP Hewell culminated with a talk from Dr Eva Schloss MBE(Holocaust survivor and Posthumous step-sister of Anne Frank.) This was extremely well attended and proved to be a highly emotional occasion. Her visit was very much appreciated by everyone especially the guides who expresssed how they had all felt honoured and humbled that she would come to speak to them. It was very moving, and you could see that Eva was very touched by this gesture.

The exhibition was then moved to Hewell Grange (Cat D prison) for the second week. Hewell Grange is a beautiful Grade 2 listed building once owned by the Earls of Plymouth until it was sold to the state, and turned into a borstal in 1946.The exhibition was set up in the Great Hall, where another set of guides/inmates were trained to present the exhibition. This they did extremely well, and were very committed to the project. The week went very well and most of the prison community and staff were able to see the exhibition there.Hewell Grange also boasts a media centre where Eva Schloss, and Project Manager Steve Gadd were both interviewed for Prison radio by inmates/radio presenters, who did a very professional job of it. Very impressive!

For the final week’s event, the exhibition was moved from the Grange to Redditch Library, where the same group of prisoners from the Grange presented the exhibition to the general public.This was a first for the Prison Project, in having the exhibition presented by prisoners outside of a prison environment, and turned out to be a great success. The prisoners were at first quite nervous about working with the public, but it turned out to be a great success, and everyone concerned got a great deal from this experience. The overwhelming majority of comments from the public were very positive and supportive of the prisoner’s efforts. A member of the Independent monitoring board and his wife dropped in unannounced, and was so impressed he informed the Chair of IMB Tony Roper who in return wrote to Governor of HMP Hewell to commend what they were doing.

All Library staff said that the men had behaved impeccably whilst they were there,and would miss working with them when the event was over and they returned to Hewell Grange.This had been a remarkable experience. Well done to all, and special thanks to Governor Stephanie Roberts-Bibby, Darryl Jones and Mike Williams from Education/Diversity dept, and to Redditch Head Librarian Jodie Ford.