Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?

This chapter describes a community art project of the Rhode Island Training School (RITS) as part of the 1% for Art Program of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. The author describes the positive transformation of student-inmates at RITS as a result of creating a mural that focused on inquiry prompts from the title of a Paul Gauguin masterpiece: Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? While all of these students were agents in crime, many were also victims or had experienced physical and/or psychological abuse. After a description of the program, insights for working with youth who have experienced trauma are provided, including: Listen and learn from the students while modeling respect, humility, and patience; practice active listening; engage in dialogue about what is happening in each person’s work; instead of teaching, set up situations where the student can discover; and avoid power struggles. Art is at the heart of meaningful learning and can empower youth who have been incarcerated and have experienced trauma by recognizing authorship, ownership, and power.