You definitely haven’t seen it! 255 works were all produced by prisoners in this new exhibition in Shanghai
You may have never seen an intangible cultural heritage exhibition like this - when you enter the exhibition hall, the large photos you see are of handcuffed hands and prison iron doors; on the side are also displayed the rehabilitation models of criminals and the norms of daily life; In the huge exhibition hall, there are hundreds of exquisite exhibits, all made by inmates... On the afternoon of June 7, "Art Changes Life - Shanghai's Intangible Cultural Heritage Enters the Big Wall' Educational Achievements Exhibition" was held at the Shanghai Mass Art Museum Museum opening.
This exhibition is divided into 12 exhibition areas, displaying 255 exhibits in the form of pictures, texts, videos, and objects from 43 intangible cultural heritage correction projects in 15 prison units under the Shanghai Prison Administration Bureau, including jade carvings, Gu embroidery, and bamboo carvings. , purple sand, porcelain engraving, dough sculpture, etc.
Most of these exhibits have complicated craftsmanship and take several years to complete. For example, the Gu embroidery work "Bamboo Dove Picture" displayed in Qingpu Prison was created by Xu Hua, a former prison inmate. It was valued at 80,000 yuan by the Songjiang Cultural Center; The crocheted bouquets that arrived were more than one meter in diameter and were jointly created by 35 inmates; the colorful bean paintings brought from Zhoupu Prison even reproduced "Along the River During the Qingming Festival"...
"In 2012, Qingpu Prison contacted me through the Songjiang Cultural Center and hoped that I would attend classes in the prison. At that time, I was not sure. The prisoners were all rough. Can they sit still? Can they persist? Unexpectedly, once a week, one It has been going on for more than ten years, and the results are quite good. Recently, we have brought the course to women’s prisons, and the response has been very enthusiastic.” Shen Lili, the inheritor of Gu Xiu’s intangible cultural heritage, said that Xu Hua is a very savvy student, “He understands the mountains. He is also very thoughtful and willing to endure hardships, which is very rare. Later, he was released from prison and was hired as a counselor in our cultural center to teach everyone about embroidery. "
Crochet is a representative item of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage. It is a handicraft that uses stitches and threads to create countless patterns and works. Beginning in 2023, Beixinjing Prison invited Jiang Lanjun, an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, to teach, trained 35 inmates, and completed more than 200 works. It also cooperated with the Shanghai Drama Center to produce cultural and creative works such as cheongsam keys and hand-held lucky bags.
Jiang Lanjun said: "The technique of crochet is very practical. From accessories, toys, household items to scarves and clothes, it can be said that 'everything can be crocheted', and it is easy to get started. You can crochet beautiful flowers in a month or two. Inmates can learn how to crochet." They are very serious. Some people say that they can set up a stall to sell handicrafts when they go out, and some people say that they want to hook a bouquet of roses to give to their girlfriends, which I think is pretty good."
At the end of the exhibition, it is written, "Reform the people inside the wall and let the people outside the wall live a good life."
The relevant person in charge of the Shanghai Prison Administration said that in recent years, Shanghai Prison has established a long-term cooperation mechanism with the Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau and vigorously introduced high-quality intangible cultural heritage project resources and professional forces. Each prison selects intangible cultural heritage correction projects that suit the reform needs of inmates, and does a good job in project docking, teacher arrangements, technical guidance, etc., comprehensively promotes the "intangible cultural heritage in the wall" education and correction project, and improves the quality of prison reform.
It is understood that recently, the Ministry of Justice fully affirmed Shanghai’s intangible cultural heritage correction work and forwarded Shanghai’s experience and practices to the national prison system for learning and reference. The above-mentioned person in charge mentioned that they had conducted a survey on criminals who participated in the intangible cultural heritage correction project and found that their recidivism rate was far lower than the average level of similar criminals. Among them, none of the criminals who participated in the jade carving correction project re-offended. After being released from prison, some criminals were awarded the titles of Master of Chinese Arts and Crafts and Master of Chinese Jade Carving as Intangible Heritage Inheritors; some established studios and continued to provide support and guidance to ex-convicts; some actively participated in public welfare undertakings and used practical actions to give back to the society. .
The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Mass Art Museum said that during the preparation process for this exhibition, they went to the prison under the guidance of the Municipal Prison Administration Bureau and saw many inmates learning intangible cultural heritage skills under the guidance of intangible cultural heritage inheritors. , gained a skill, regained self-worth, and radiated enthusiasm for future life, thus smoothly returning to society and starting a new life. It can be seen from this that "art changes life" is not only a slogan, but also a practice.
