‘M-IDZOMER breaks out’ connects prisoners with art

M strives to connect hard-to-reach groups with art: it’s one of the museum’s priorities. Children in hospital, for example, and the museum also collaborates on a project for prisoners: ‘M-IDZOMER breekt uit’ [M-IDZOMER breaks out].

Art has the power to take your mind off things

Charlotte Van Peer

Collaborator education at M

M hosts the four-day music festival M-IDZOMER in its courtyard garden every year. In the run-up to the event, M and Het Depot, in cooperation with De Rode Antraciet, organise ‘M-IDZOMER breaks out’: a music and arts programme for the inmates of Leuven’s auxiliary prison.

Collaborator education Charlotte Van Peer is leading a creative workshop in the auxiliary prison as part of this initiative. The results will be displayed at the museum during the festival. Furthermore, M-IDZOMER also enters the prison for a day every year, with performances and activities.

Outside the lines

Charlotte: “‘M-IDZOMER breaks out’ has been around for a while. Prison is a harsh place, which can desensitise people. As a society, we need to ensure that inmates maintain contact with the outside world. M believes in second chances: which is why we suggested that we could organise and supervise art-based workshops, and that’s how ‘M-IDZOMER break out’ acquired its current form. In the workshops, we always provide a link to the collection or the current exhibition at M.”

“The question, of course, is this: what can art do in places where it’s least expected? In places where people are not encouraged to tap into their passions or creativity? Prisoners are rarely asked for their opinions. Colouring within the lines is the norm, and the very opposite is true of art. It’s a fascinating contrast.”

M-IDZOMER breekt uit — © Diederik Craps voor M Leuven

“Prisoners are quickly reduced to their past and their punishment. But if you ask them in a workshop what they still dream of or what they’re good at, a very different dynamic emerges. Their answers are much less pre-programmed. You often get very honest responses and creations.”

“One edition of ‘M-IDZOMER breaks out’ began with a brainstorm between the partners: M, Het Depot, CAW Oost-Brabant and De Rode Antraciet. We tried to find original themes for the workshops and thought carefully about how to show the results. In 2023, for example, we worked around visual poetry – visualising text. The inmates were given a second-hand book that they could edit themselves and augment with their own poems and texts. It led to some incredibly beautiful creations, which we showed during the four days of M-IDZOMER at M.”

Calm, recognition and creativity

“There’s also a festival day inside the prison during M-IDZOMER. The Depot secures the artists and De Rode Antraciet organises the practicalities. There’s a DJ set during the regular morning walk, after-lunch performances and the inmates get the chance to show what they have learned in other workshops at De Rode Antraciet – about capoeira or rap, for example.”

“In the ‘M-IDZOMER breaks out’ workshops, we do sometimes collide with the language barrier. Communication is often difficult, but then we look for ways to engage the participants regardless. One illiterate detainee from Iran, for instance, turned out to have an incredible talent for drawing. Without really understanding the assignment, he could still do his own thing. He spent two hours drawing. Being able to do something different is sometimes enough to step outside the harsh reality of prison. And art has the power to take your mind off things.”

“I’m very realistic about what we can achieve with the workshops. It’s not the intention to teach all the prisoners drawing techniques, or educate them about art or the exhibitions in M. What we hope to offer, above all else, are moments of calm, recognition and creativity. Art is the perfect medium. And the prisoners also get the chance to talk about other things or think about where their talents lie. It’s all about flipping a switch and entering a different world.”