Culture and justice in Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Access to arts and culture is a right that no one placed under the control of the courts can be deprived of, nor can they be deprived of education or health. In this context, culture, a real vector of construction and even reconstruction of the person, becomes a major element in the rehabilitation process.

In accordance with the national Memoranda of Understanding binding the Ministries of Justice and Culture, the Regional Directorate for Cultural Affairs Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Interregional Directorate of Penitentiary Services of Bordeaux and the Interregional Directorate for Youth Judicial Protection South-West Africa have signed a protocol of regional cooperation for access to the culture of persons placed under the hand of justice, as part of the policies of prevention of recidivism.

Access to arts and culture is a right that no one placed under the control of the court can be deprived of, nor can education or health be deprived of.

This protocol concerns access to culture for adults or minors placed under the hand of justice, in the territory of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, in a closed environment, as in an open environment, with the following objectives:

• the accompaniment of the adults or minors placed under the hand of justice towards local cultural sites ;
• the development of alternatives to incarceration and accommodation of pain in areas related to culture ;
• the development of actions aimed at training persons placed under the hand of justice in the cultural fields;
• Training of prison administration staff and cultural actors seeking better cooperation

An interdepartmental policy for more than 30 years

As an essential element in the reintegration process, culture promotes personal appreciation while allowing for inclusion in a creative process leading to openness to others. To this end, since 1986, the State has set up a national protocol bringing together the Ministries of Culture and Justice. At the regional level, it is jointly implemented by DRAC, DISP and DRPJJ.

Culture-Justice expertise within the DRAC

Within the DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Culture-Justice advisors provide their expertise on the quality of the projects proposed by the Services pénitentiaires d'insertion et de Probation (SPIP) and the Direction Territoriale de la Protection Judiciaire de la Jeunesse (DTPJJ). They bring together the institutions of cultural networks and project leaders. Beyond this role as facilitators, they financially support projects in conjunction with the Department of Justice services.

Cultural projects of different kinds

Between 2017 and 2022, 237 projects have been supported jointly across all institutions and structures under the Judicial Youth Protection of Nouvelle Aquitaine. These projects can take different forms:

• National operations supported by the Ministry of Culture (Inmate Goncourt or Hot Bubble Award…);
• Regular workshops of artistic practice (Café Music in Mont-de-Marsan);
• Concerts, film sessions, shows, meetings;
• External events that invite themselves to prison (the La Rochelle International Film Festival in Saint-Martin de Ré or the Filmer le travail Festival at the Poitiers-Vivonne Prison Centre (86);
• Co-built projects SPIP/ Cultural operators (a calligraphy workshop accompanied by an artist Nicolas Camoisson or a writing workshop in the center of Uzerche (23).

237 projects funded between 2017 and 2022 across the territory