Since 2011 The Torch has been providing art, cultural and arts industry support to Indigenous offenders and ex-offenders in Victoria through its Indigenous Arts in Prisons and Community program.
The program supports the development of self-esteem, confidence and resilience, through cultural strengthening and artistic expression. The Torch assists artists to reconnect with culture, earn income from art sales (with 100% of the artwork price going directly to the artist), foster new networks and to pursue educational and creative industry avenues upon their release.
By embracing program participants as artists rather than offenders, The Torch provides an avenue to change.
Indigenous Australians make up less than 3% of the Australian adult population but represent over 30% of the national adult prison population.
Indigenous men are 15 times more likely to go to prison than non-Indigenous men and Indigenous women are 21 times more likely to go to prison than non-Indigenous women. The Torch has been delivering the Statewide Indigenous Arts in Prison and Community program (SIAPC) since 2011. The SIAPC program is set within the context of the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement and its focus is on the role of culture and cultural identity in the rehabilitative process of Indigenous