Prison Gardens
PRISON VIDEO PROCESS
One of the major aspects of our final presentation is a video that we would show to potential partners in order to explain our program, why we need their help, and point out that there are successful prison garden and horticulture programs around the country.
Per Kristin’s suggestion, we made a stop motion video. I found that the medium lent itself beautifully to the subject matter. We had such a difficult time getting access to the prison just for a visit so animating the video myself made more sense since it would have been difficult to use photography or video. I developed a visual system that was bright, breezy, and has a distinctly human feeling to it. Since this video is intended for potential partners and not for inmates, I decided that it was important to make it somewhat playful since we are encouraging them to participate. And at the end of the day this is a happy project, even if it is within the walls of the prison. Visiting the prison really inspired me to make a video that did bring some color and vitality to the prison which is so commonly thought of as austere and dreary. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a place that I wanted to spend the rest of my life in. But seeing that these inmates were just people that look like you and me made me want to find a way to bring some joy or purpose into their lives. Yes they’ve broken the law or committed heinous crimes. But these are men who are doing their time and paying their debt to society. I think they deserve a chance somewhere and I think our program could be it.
PRISON VISIT
Our visit to the State correctional Institution (SCI) was a truly unique and enlightening experience. Although it would have been helpful to visit at an earlier stage of the project, we were able to learn a great deal about how the prison operates, the living conditions or the inmates, and the general prison layout. SCI is primarily used for inmates who need to complete therapy or training programs. The school offers studies in various crafts and there are volunteer-run AA and NA programs. We met with the assistant to the superintendent, the principle of the prison school, the librarian, and the director of programming. Each of them provided great insight into not just their tasks and relations with the inmates, but also their perspective on the feasibility and logistics of a potential garden and horticulture program.
SCI is currently focusing on becoming accredited with the American Correctional Association (ACA), which will culminate with an inspection next year. The ACA outlines specific policies and regulations that the prison must be accountable for or else they are liable for inmate lawsuits regarding things like air quality or amount of cell space. A garden/horticulture program could definitely play a positive role in SCI’s goal to become accredited.
The employees we spoke with were enthusiastic about developing a garden but the lack of adequate green space proved to be a barrier. They suggested pursuing the project at the Mercer County Prison where they already have gardening contests and flowerbeds. The program director also pointed out the issue of working around the union; giving the task of running a garden or teaching a horticulture class would not be in any job description of current employees. While the focus of our project is on lowering recidivism rates and providing inmates with employment opportunities post-release, the program director was more interested in developing a garden for “special needs inmates” (i.e. any prisoner with mental or behavioral problems). She thought that gardening would be a solid therapeutic option for them and something that the prison currently does not offer.
We were encouraged to learn that gardening tool safety would not be as much of an issue as we initially anticipated. All of the classrooms that require the use of tools are checked three times a day and the tools are organized along a wall so that each tool and its location are visible at all times. When not in use, the tool cage is locked. It also seemed that monetary resources would not be much of a problem either. The program director and the assistant to the superintendant alluded several times that there was a healthy budget for programs, activities, and library materials. We were also encouraged when we read through the food menu of the week. SCI offers two different protein options per meal and incorporate fresh food whenever possible. Since the employees cannot bring in their own food, they eat the same lunch as the inmates, with the addition of a salad bar option.
Just being around the inmates was fascinating enough. We were allowed to walk into two different cells, observe inmates during outdoor time in the yard, and learn about their daily routine. We are excited to reflect more on our experience at SCI. We were thrilled with how receptive everyone was to our program concept and we look forward to possibly pursuing it furthe
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UPDATES!- Prison Garden
Here are some updates on our project process. We have begun finalizing the features and steps within our service design. By creating storyboards of life pre and post garden program and unpacking the specific efforts of each. After taking a closer look at the story we were telling and getting feedback from the class, we decided to hone our focus to reducing recidivism and building skills for job placement after release. We found that the other aspects we identified in the storyboard could perhaps be implemented later in the project but the most important thing for us is to focus on trainin the inmates and placing them in programs so that they don’t return to prison.
We also began some visual explorations. It has been difficult to come up with an identity system for a program targeted at a men’s prison. While some of the concepts behind the sketches are interesting, they aren’t exactly appropriate for a men’s prison. Bruce pointed out that since the program is intended to grow beyond SCI Pittsburgh, that maybe the focus should be more on making the identity system gender neutral instead of targeted to men specifically. Any critique would be helpful.
Prison Garden Dream Board- Qianwen, Lowell, Tim
During class on Thursday, we developed a dream board/map of what our ideal prisons would look like based on the various types of gardens we could implement. Each “prison” depicted below shows our future vision for how the garden could be utilized and the way it would cause the prison to operate. This was a fun exercise that allowed us to be completely free and even outlandish in our visions for our project. Imagining the future for the prison garden will help us funnel our scope but still push the envelop of what’s been done before.
We also started addressing specific deliverables that will be apart of our project. We have established that our project is the designing of a service/experience so we wanted to come up with a wide range of deliverables that would be utilized within the garden service. We would definitely do more research and narrow this list for the final project but it was helpful just writing whatever came to mind. We also began the rather daunting task of coming up with a name. Garden and plant related terms were the focus but we are totally open to anything. It’s much harder to come up with a name for our project than we thought….
Prison Garden Exercises- Qianwen, Lowell, Tim
After an extremely enlightening conversation with Debbie Rutt from Portland State University, we began trying to focus the scope of our project. We began by identifying all of the stakeholders related to the prison garden system and listing the benefits and potential negative points for each. This exercise helped us to assess where there was overlap; for instance, having a garden improves the visual appeal of the prison which affects prisoners, corrections officers, prison administration, family members of the prisoners, and more. It was also important to identify wins and losses. While the pros outweigh the cons for the corrections officers, having a garden would be extra work for them and there is the concern of having prisoners use tools. It will be key for us to keep some of these in mind while also determining a project that maintains all of the wonderful benefits.
After that, we came up with 5 potential garden types; a garden for skill building and vocational training, one for healthy food production, one for inmates and their families, one for conservation and restoration, and one for beautification. Our conversation with Debbie helped steer us into identifying these options and unpacking their unique qualities and benefits. A garden that focuses on food production could give prisoners healthy meals and could provide food for the Pittsburgh Food Pantry while a conservation/restoration garden could educate prisoners about horticulture while also protecting and growing local endangered species.
Let Toys Be Toys
Tim Napoli
As a boy growing up playing with Barbies and furiously flipping through the the American Girl Doll catalogue, I was extremely intrigued by the news that Toys ‘R Us in the UK had decided to adopt a policy to remove all gender-specific toy-use in their advertisements and in their stores. The policy was pushed by an campaign called Let Toys Be Toys which targets retailers in an effort for them to stop showcasing the idea of “girl toys” and “boy toys”. The organization is led by parents and seeks to encourage children to select/play with the toys of their choosing without the influence stereotyped advertising. They also focus their efforts on removing leading signs like “Girl Toys” and instead using gender neutral descriptors like “Arts and Crafts”.
I think that this campaign offers a unique and timely design problem: how do retailers undo decades of gender-specific stereotypes and create marketing, branding, and wayfinding solutions that are gender-neutral? Toys ‘R Us in Sweden sent out ads last year that featured a boy playing with a hairdryer and a girl staring down the barrel of a toy gun. These ads are basically nothing different from what is being done in toy advertising; they simply made a switch when it came time for someone to model the doll stroller. What I’m interested in is how designers can push this even further. Blue and pink are the customary colors to differentiate boys and girls, but what if advertisers did away with those entirely and only worked with greens, yellows, and oranges? I’m also curious as to how far-reaching this policy could be. The first step is retailers but I think the next one would be to target the toy companies themselves. This could mean that the Barbie logo is now teal or G.I. Joe now has a partner named Joanie. By starting at places like Toys ‘R Us, Let Toys Be Toys could trickle there way right into the source and enact policy changes throughout the toy industry so that gender-neutral toys become the norm.
However, I think I’m maybe getting a little ahead of myself. Not that I think that boys and girls should be told what they can and cannot like. But one of the reasons I wanted to play with Barbie dolls was because of their big hair, frilly dresses, and glamourous pink packaging. If the toys themselves move into a place of complete gender-neutrality, then everything could start looking the same in terms of colors, subject matter, and purpose. I think that Let Toys Be Toys is doing the right thing by focusing their attention on the retailers; let the toy companies make whatever they want, the kids will decide what they want to play with. I would say that it be very beneficial for the toy companies to take some strides on their own to neutralize their own personal advertising. But I think that Let Toys be Toys is doing an appropriate job and giving kids themselves the power to make their own choices. At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing; that children have the confidence and support to play with the toys they want. In a lot of ways, it’s the parents who really need to grasp this understanding. Children are sponges, soaking up the world around them; it’s the parents who have prejudices and stereotypes embedded in their brains. If there was a way to target parents specifically and get them to understand that it is healthy for their children to play with whatever toys they choose, I think that Let Toys Be Toys could really make some headway. The community aspect of the campaign can be very helpful for that but I’m wondering if there are other steps that could be taken to get more parents to open themselves up to the idea that children should feel safe and comfortable playing with the toys of their choosing.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/6/toys-r-us-goes-gender-neutral-united-kingdom/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/swedish-toys-r-us-catalog-gender-stereotypes_n_2198045.html
Empowering Women
Tim Napoli
9-24-13
Last Spring, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History hosted a traveling exhibit called “Empowering Women” which promotes the efforts of female artisan cooperatives from around the world. The exhibit displayed the various arts and crafts and also included videos and information about how the various co-ops were formed. Many of the items in the exhibit were purchased by the museum or sold in the museum gift shop. While all of the artifacts were beautiful and unique, the real focus of the exhibit was on the women who made them and the impact these co-ops had on their lives as well as the economies of their countries. All 6 co-ops were in developing nations where women seldom made their own money. The co-ops have given them the opportunity to develop their own source of income and independence. They also help to keep these traditional arts and crafts alive in our increasingly corporate global economy.
In terms of design, I thought that using a museum exhibit to highlight the stories of these women was a smart move. Museum goers are people with an interest in learning about the world so these stories would have a greater impact on someone who is going to a museum with the intention of educating themselves about something new. It also allows there to be a dialogue about the conditions for women in these countries and for viewers to understand where these artifacts come from and the struggle to get the co-ops up and running. A woven basket in a store doesn’t have the capacity to tell a story the way the basket could if it was accompanied by a video and description of the women who made it. A traveling exhibit also allows for a wide audience to hear these stories and see the merchandise. I’m not sure how popular these items are in the countries where they are made, but an exhibit like “Empowering Women” puts these crafts on a global stage and will hopefully generate more business. I think the visual design of the exhibit is not particularly strong, but I really appreciate what the exhibit did for the women in these co-ops. The exhibit asks us important questions about societal structure, global economies, and the survival of traditional crafts. Most importantly, however, it gives these women the chance to grow, prosper, and develop a strong network amongst themselves.
http://seattletimes.com/html/thearts/2021409079_empoweringwomenburkexml.html
Design and Policy 