Port of Spain: Minister of National Security the Honourable Fitzgerald Hinds M.P. officially opened the Trinidad and Tobago’s Prison Service’s 11th Annual Inmates’ Art Exhibition, held in collaboration with the National Library and Information System (NALIS) at NALIS Head Office, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain on Wednesday June 01, 2022.
Delivering remarks at the Opening Ceremony for the Exhibition, Minister Hinds commended the nine (9) inmates participating in this year’s Exhibition, who presented forty (40) art pieces under the theme “Prisons Real & Imagined – The Transformative Power of Art in Corrections”.
The Minister noted that, even though the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily halted the Annual Inmates’ Art Exhibition, the inmates continued to refine their artistic skills as part of their rehabilitation process. He stated, “The pursuit of art brings out in the human person, elements of refinement, creativity and talent that many individuals may not have known resided within themselves. Under the tuition of the experts, skills are developed, making you more creative and more amenable to ideas of rehabilitation and reform. Art also creates an opportunity for you to become more commercially viable.”
The Minister also spoke about the adoption of the restorative justice system in Trinidad and Tobago’s prisons, noting that, “This exhibition forms a small part of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service’s larger programme for rehabilitation and restoration. Via Cabinet-approved policy in 2001, Government moved the transformation of the prison system from a retributive and penal system to a restorative system of justice. That has been the shaft of light that has been running through all prison programmes.”
Minister Hinds highlighted significant infrastructural upgrades that have recently been undertaken to enhance the prison system. These included the installation of new alarm systems at the Golden Grove Prison and Maximum Security Prison (MSP); the supply and installation of video surveillance and Closed Circuit Television Systems (CCTV) at Golden Grove and MSP; and the upgrade of the plumbing and electrical system at the Remand Yard, Golden Grove.
Minister Hinds took the opportunity to thank Commissioner of Prisons (Ag.) Mr. Deopersad Ramoutar and the Executive of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service, for the on-going work of the organization and for leading a continued administration of cognitive, technical and vocational rehabilitative programmes, aimed at equipping and preparing offenders for reintegration into society. He further pledged that the Ministry of National Security will continue to support the Inmates’ Art Initiative and other prison programmes which contribute to inmates’ personal growth and development.
Also in attendance at the opening ceremony were Speaker of the House of Representatives the Honourable Bridgid Annisette-George; Commissioner of Prisons (Ag.) Mr. Deopersad Ramoutar; Executive Director, NALIS Ms. Paula Greene; and other executive members of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service.
The Inmates’ Art Exhibition will be open to the public at NALIS, Abercromby Street, Port of Spain from June 02, 2022 to June 15, 2022, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on weekends.