Breadcrumbs Section. Click here to navigate to respective pages.
Chapter

Chapter
Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?
DOI link for Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?
Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? book
Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?
DOI link for Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?
Where have we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? book
ABSTRACT
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.