Locked up and down: Incarceration, care, and art in a pandemic

Anne‐Marie Greene,Caoimhe Mcavinchey,Sarah Bartley,Deborah Dean

doi:10.1111/gwao.12801

Abstract

AbstractThere has been recent criticism of the lack of care in the UK economy, especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic, which has exacerbated inequality and disadvantage faced by those most vulnerable in society. This article focuses on the importance of care in the practices of Clean Break—an internationally recognized theater, education, and advocacy organization that puts the stories of women with experience of the criminal justice system center stage. Drawing centrally on the work of Joan Tronto and Berenice Fisher, we argue that Clean Break's pandemic activities, that is in crisis, have a deep connection to the central place of care within its practices since its inception. We extend the care ethic concept to specifically include art as a form of care. Using textual analysis of the play, Shower Scene, developed in the Clean Break 2 Metres Apart pandemic‐response program, we argue that Clean Break offers an example of what care can and does entail in practice, with positive impacts for its stakeholders.

Highlights

In March 2020, the UK “locked down” in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic
This uncaring was noted at the center of the UK political system: The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee produced a report on the unequal gender impact of the pandemic concluding that the government “overlooked” inequalities experienced by women (House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, 2021)
This article deals with a case example in one area of the UK economy—theater, and on one aspect of significant gender inequalities—women with experience of the criminal justice system,and how care is actively demonstrated in the practices of one organization—Clean Break

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

In March 2020, the UK “locked down” in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, the Commission on a Gender-Equal Economy released its final report, Creating a caring economy: a call to action, which presented a radical alternative to our present economic model. 3818) and incidents of self-harm in women's prisons are reported to have increased by 24% during COVID-19 lockdown (HM Prison and Probation Service, 2020b) This is important context for the care work of Clean Break in the pandemic and was clearly in the foreground of the thinking of playwrights Yasmin Joseph and River in their play Shower Scene which we explore in detail later. A history of trauma-informed practice; a company structure where the “Education” work took place without the pressures of visibility (in the center and in prisons) and the “Artistic” programme was in the public domain; giving Members time, space, and means to access Clean Break's services; giving commissioned writers time, space, and mentoring to develop understanding of context and how to navigate beyond shock and outrage to create material that engaged audiences. As the voice of Shower Two reminds us, they demand an enduring, collaborative commitment to realize the seemingly impossible

| CONCLUSION

Findings

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES