A collaborative project between the Western Australian Museum (WA Museum) and the Department of Justice has encouraged prisoners at Bandyup Women's Prison to explore different styles of creative storytelling.
The six-day program, titled The Museum of Stories, aimed to foster personal growth, creativity, and self-expression by using objects from the WA Museum’s collection to inspire story ideas.
Led by the WA Museum Regions Project Officer Ange Leech, and author, theatre writer, and performer Stewart Ennis, the program was informed by the pair’s extensive experience delivering arts-based programs in prisons.
The eight participants were asked to respond to their chosen object through poetry, song, spoken word, true stories, or folk tales. The women then devised a short performance to share with family and friends on-site at Bandyup.
Ms Leech said using artefacts from the museum collection provided opportunities for creative expression and self-reflection through the sharing of personal stories. It also aimed to encourage participants and their families to visit the WA Museum post-release.
“Our collaboration with Bandyup Prison enabled the exchanging of skills and creative techniques to explore a model of personal growth and creative expression that can be replicated, and delivered at other prisons in the future,” she said.
Mr Ennis said The Museum of Stories project took the Bandyup women on a creative and emotional journey.
"The laughter and tears from family during the final performance was a testament to the power of the women's storytelling and the importance of family-centered creative projects such as this,” he said.
The Department of Justice Prisoner Education Manager Metro, Angela Graham, said using photographs of museum artefacts was a lovely idea to connect the women to an environment they may never have visited.
“The project was a success and the women’s stories were inspiring. It was clear they had gained much confidence from the program.”
