GROUNDation Poetry Project (GPP) was inspired by the success of our first ever spoken word affair – ‘GROUNDation I: Poetry for the People’ that took place in 2013. The project set out to allow participants to create their own piece of poetry or spoken word around the theme of ‘Home’.
GPP was a series of poetry and spoken word workshops. For many of the participants, it was their first encounter with poetry and/or spoken word. The workshops were led by renowned poets seen at the bottom of this page. It ran in both HMP Wandsworth’s library as well as various locations in the Wandsworth community.
In March 2015, the participants of the GPP took part in a presentation in which they performed and shared the work that they had done in the workshops. In the room were family members, prison staff and guests invited from the general public. As well as this, the participants produced a limited edition handcrafted book of poetry, featuring the work from the project, entitled ‘Home’. A further two workshops, again inside and outside of the prison, bringing practical paper crafting skills, alongside design, production and business skills, saw groups of poetry workshops participants coming together to physically make 200 books. This publication has not only extended the life of the project but also make the voices of men in prison and Wandsworth local communities accessible to a wider audience.
The workshops helped to enhance creative writing skills, literacy, public speaking and performance skills. By throwing themselves into active learning and with a little bit of dialogue, debate, and expression through writing, participants developed a greater understanding and better relationships with themselves, each other, poetry and their communities.
Our gallant gallery of artists:
In September 2015, The GROUNDation Poetry Project II won a Gold Award under the ‘Arts Projects’ category as part of this year’s Koestler Awards for art made in detention. The Koestler received over 8,500 pieces of writing, music, film, fine art and design for the 2015 awards which were judged by industry professionals such as, […]
Following on from the Koestler Gold Award our poetry anthology ‘Home’ has now been reviewed in the prestigious PN Review by our colleague at the University of Essex, Dr. Chris McCully. Entitled ‘Home in Wandsworth’, it is a substantial 1,500 words in PNR 225, September – October 2015, Volume 46:1, that explores the theme of […]
In July, Safe Ground were invited to participate in ‘Freedom and Expression’ at the Freeword Centre. This event was organised by the University of Essex Human Rights Centre and Essex Book Festival. To read an overview of the day please click here. The afternoon saw Fundraising and Communications Director, Obinna Nwosu, present an overview of […]
On Wednesday 4th March, at HMP Wandsworth GROUNDation II: Poetry, Power, People took place; the performance finale to our GROUNDation Poetry Project (GPP). Workshop participants from the prison and the local community outside gathered together for the first time in a creative exchange in front of family, friends, supporters, prison staff and members of the […]
Just one week after “Thinking Home”, on Friday 17th July 2015, (see our blog Expressing Home), Safe Ground participated in “Freedom and Expression” at the Free Word Centre in London, organised by the University of Essex Human Rights Centre and Essex Book Festival. The purpose of the event was to bring together diverse organisations working […]
Poetry, it seems, is a gift that keeps on giving. In this case our GROUNDation Poetry Project and the book ‘Home’ it produced, have led to an association with the University of Essex, which in turn has led to recent opportunities to promote the work of Safe Ground. From 10-11th July 2015 Safe Ground participated […]
In November 2014 we launched a crowdfunding campaign through Sponsume.com to raise money to help stage a performance event in HMP Wandsworth to mark the end of our GROUNDation Poetry Project. As the campaign drew to a close in February of this year, we discovered through internet chatter that Sponsume no longer seemed to be […]
To coincide with World Book Night on Thursday 23rd April 2015, Safe Ground hosted not one but two book launches for ‘Home’, a limited edition anthology produced by project participants from the GROUNDation Poetry Project. The book not only celebrates the work of those new to poetry but permanently seams together the prison and local […]
Safe Ground is founded by Antonia Rubinstein and Polly Freeman in 1993, then established as a charity in 1995.
Men in prison at HMP Woodhill create a drugs prevention video ‘Ryan’s Choice’ for year 6 school children (1997/98)
‘Parents for the 21st Century’ collaboration with the prison service begins in 1999. This helps absent fathers, whom are in prison, learn how they can improve their parenting skills for children aged 6 to 12.
Film ‘Blinda’ is created by men in prison at HMP Wandsworth – the story concerns Frank, who is serving a 3-year sentence and has cut off all communication with his 8-year-old son Wayne.
‘Blinda’ wins an International Visual Communication Award in 2001.
Family Man launches at HMP Wandsworth in early 2003.
Family Man and Fathers Inside are firmly established, raising the profile of parenting and family relationships in prisons.
Safe Ground train Prison Officers at HMP Wandsworth to deliver Family Man.
The revised Family Man programme has been successfully trialled in 6 establishments.
Safe Ground are shortlisted for The Centre for Social Justice Awards.
Safe Ground train members of the Belgian Prison Service in using the arts to engage hard to reach learners
Creating Community Archives project begins at HMYOI Deerbolt, using archive materials to engage young men in prison in a dialogue with World War 2 veterans
Common Ground project begins, aiming to engage school children, older adults and people in prison in a creative dialogue
Transitions project takes place at HMP Wandsworth in October 2012
The project was a creative outlet, which produced short stories and film scripts, as well as film ‘The View’
Safe Ground on the Run raises £20,000!
New programmes in development include Man Up and Officers’ Mess
GROUNDation, Safe Ground’s first ever spoken word and poetry evening takes place at the LOST Theatre, Wandsworth
Safe Ground creates programme ‘The Cay’ and delivers rehabilitative culture training to the staff at HMP Balsam Ghut in the British Virgin Islands
A Justice Data Lab analysis finds that the one year proven reoffending rate for participants on the Family Man programme was 32%, compared to 39% for a matched control group of similar offenders
GROUNDation Poetry project wins a Gold award at the Koestler Awards in September 2015
Women’s programme ‘Our Own Stories’, a creative personal development programme for women, is piloted at HMP Styal, HMP East Sutton Park, HMP Askham Grange and HMP Low Newton
Safe Ground turns 21! An Open House event is held for the public to learn more about the organisation’s history
‘MOVING. HOME.’ Symposium is held at the National Theatre, exploring the meaning of ‘home’ with a range of panellists, including Safe Ground alumni and Baroness Helena Kennedy QC
A Justice Data Lab analysis finds that Fathers Inside participants are 40% less likely to re-offend than their counterparts.
Safe Ground win the Longford Prize for contribution to penal reform
Officers’ Mess is delivered at HMP Berwyn, with 86% of participants agreeing that the course made them think about how they respond in different situations
The Who Am I? programme in partnership with Ormiston Families’ Transforming Rehabilitation is rolled out in probation sites across the East of England.
Our Symposium ‘A Matter of Life and Death’ is held at the Roundhouse. We invite guests to discuss issues of punishment, prison, exclusion and harm. There are five performers, all with lived experience of the criminal justice system.
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