Alice Rowan Swanson Proposal

Stephanie McKee
Project Title:
"Social Rehabilitation through the Artwork of Zululand Prisoners"

Proposal:
    Article ten of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that "the penitentiary system shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation. "  While in South Africa in July 2012 I will work toward these goals of treatment, reform and social rehabilitation in KwaZulu Natal prisons by volunteering with the Phoenix Zululand Restorative Justice Organization.  I will facilitate art programs in low to medium security prisons, drawing out narratives and giving inmates an outlet of self expression where few exist.
    I will then bring visibility to these drawings and paintings, along with Phoenix's current collection of drawings, by documenting the images and creating an open source online archive.  When made visible to the public, the emotions, aspirations and lives revealed in these images can help return a sense of humanity to Zululand inmates.  This visual archive can also help create a place for authentic indigenous African identities in the often Eurocentric modern high art world.
    Finally, I will collaborate with inmates to make a body of fifty photographs about their plans for the future.  To accomplish this, I will interview inmates about their plans upon returning to their communities, then paint images of their responses in the palms of their hands.  The final product will be photographs of these hand paintings, which will be exhibited in the United States.

Project Merit:
    During my SIT Independent Study Project, I worked as a Phoenix facilitator helping  prepare inmates to integrate back into their families and communities.  My collaborative hand-painting project will inspire hope in inmates by allowing them to see an image of their future in their hands.  When offenders transform into productive citizens, government and society benefit exponentially.
    Phoenix feels I am the ideal candidate for this work.  I am a self-motivated artist with a BFA in Painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Md. and have years of experience teaching art in disadvantaged communities.

World View:
    My experience abroad will allow me a degree of prison access not possible in the United States.  I will gain insight into successful methods of prison reform, a passion of mine that I hope to merge with the arts and pursue in the future.  Specifically, I aim to promote inmate rehabilitation by making correctional facilities more creative environments.  On a surface level, this involves working with inmates to cover the walls of their facilities with images that motivate them towards the future they desire.  On a programming level, I hope to work with the government or an NGO to develop new methods of art education in United States prisons, which currently detain over 2.3 million people, a higher percentage of the population than any country in the world.
    After attending grad school for fine art, I will also bring "outsider" art to the public eye by curating exhibitions and possibly teaching at the collegiate level.  Finally, my biggest aspiration is to always keep my studio art practice, creating collaborative work that promotes intercultural understanding by exploring African and intercultural identities.

Former SIT Study Abroad program:
Country: South Africa
Year/Semester: Fall 2010
Academic Director: John Daniel