Inspiring murals have appeared in Invercargill Prison as a group of prisoners take ownership of their space and create a more interesting and positive prison environment.

The group has working with street artist and tutor Tulaga Aiolupotea, painting animals on the bare walls of the old dining room to represent themes of courage, freedom and strength.

“Blank walls of a prison can feel sterile and institutional, but allowing the men to be involved in adding colour and symbolism to the walls can be a really positive experience, and something they can rightly feel really proud of,” says Regional Volunteer Coordinator and Librarian Jane King

The room was the former dining room and is now a space planned for the delivery of programmes and interventions.

While the paint is brightening the walls, the men involved have been learning new skills.

“It’s brought the room alive,” says one of the men. “It’s made it a place where you can calm down and think better – a great place to take a break from the kitchen where I work.”

For another of the painters, the mural experience has given him the courage to further his own art.

“I am a fine work artist and this size of artwork really made me hesitate to help,” says one. “But with Tulaga’s encouragement, I am loving it and learning heaps.”

Tulaga says that, while the project has been a bit slow going, it is on track to be completed by the end of the year.

“The process with the art has exceeded my expectations in what it looks like and who I am working with,” he says. “The men I am working with love it, but art is easy to love.”

So far, the men have painted a lion, bull and turtle.

“I thought a nice mural would brighten up those common, concrete walls. We use low-pressure, non-toxic / odour aerosol spray paints. This is great for indoors work and in prison. It’s not your average spray paint but it helps get the job done quickly.”

Jane says the programme's benefits are threefold; teaching skills through art, positively changing the physical environment, and encouraging continued engagement with the Arts.

“They’re developing their communications skills, with Tulaga and each other. They’re taking ownership of their work by being responsible for some of the design decisions and I can see they’re taking great pleasure in seeing a piece of work go from idea to completion.”

Jane says there are so many benefits of getting the men directly involved in the project and, even though only a couple of men have been involved with the painting, many others have enjoyed watching it develop.

“I hear them discussing the artwork and what it means to them. I never expected it to be so powerful,” she says.

“We find that there is a great deal of latent talent in our prisons, and the people involved often surprise themselves with their skill and that they are able to share a message or story they may have found hard to communicate in other ways. In this way, art plays a very important part in rehabilitation and education within the prison.”