ASU faculty, students help incarcerated women renovate prison classroom
ASU faculty and graduate students joined with women experiencing incarceration to renovate and decorate this classroom at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Perryville. Photo by Sgt. O. Parra, Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry
When asked to imagine what a room inside a prison might look like, most people would have trouble thinking of anything warm and inviting.
For those experiencing incarceration, it's also difficult to imagine a better sense of well-being if their everyday environment lacks inspiration and encouragement.
Incarcerated women at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Perryville west of Phoenix had been meeting with an Arizona State University professor and graduate students in a classroom-size room called The Hub, sharing hopes that one day they would leave prison with a better outlook than when they arrived.
But the surroundings definitely didn’t help.
“It felt more like a storage room than a classroom,” said Associate Professor Kevin Wright of the ASU School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “It had no life in it. No energy. It was uncomfortable.”
Wright, director of ASU’s Center for Correctional Solutions, said he and his students asked themselves: Could an uninspiring room where incarcerated people meet to think positively about their future somehow be transformed into something more encouraging?
They consulted with an ASU design assistant professor, Hassnaa Mohammed of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, who was enthusiastic about getting involved.
Mohammed, today an assistant professor of design at Indiana University, Bloomington, and her ASU students joined Wright and his students to explore possibilities with incarcerated women at the facility. They also solicited ideas from the outside community.
The project took two years to secure around $10,000 in contributions, furniture donated by Phoenix-based Goodman’s Furniture, permission from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, or ADCRR, and to accommodate the students’ academic calendars.
Wright’s center was also involved with renovating a second room at the prison — a "Staff Wellness Room" — that included arranging donations of reclining chairs.
Navigating different worlds
Wright said The Hub’s bleak, noisy status made it difficult to concentrate and focus.
“Everyone wants people inside to transform. That comes from investing in the tools to help make transformation possible,” he said. “Tools like a well-designed classroom."
But redoing The Hub presented some challenges.
“It involved bringing in the incarcerated women, navigating different worlds that don’t usually come in contact with one another,” Wright explained.
The incarcerated women were instrumental in the design and the painting of a mural.
Alongside ADCRR and ASU staff, they laid the floor, installed the fixtures and put in the ceiling without outside contractors.
One woman, named LizzetteThe last names of incarcerated women who were part of the project and quoted in this story are not being used for privacy reasons., said she was encouraged to participate in the effort after having several conversations about turning “just a rundown-looking classroom” into a beautiful space.
“We collaborated together, and the vision was started,” Lizzette said. “We brainstormed about the possibilities of transforming a room in prison into a trauma-informed space where we can find peace. Peace sounds like something unimaginable in a prison setting. However, we made it happen.”
The Hub became a quiet and peaceful place where Lizzette said one can relax, transform and reflect.
Mohammed said multiple pre-design workshops with the women, Wright and Wright’s students helped facilitate the “delicate balance” reflected in the room’s ultimate design.
Carrie Dally, then a Herberger Institute graduate student, frequently drove to Perryville from her Tucson home to participate. She said the work was much like designing any other room.
“It wasn't as different as you might expect. In fact, one of our unspoken objectives was to make this room feel as much like a ‘normal’ classroom as possible,” said Dally, who has since graduated from ASU with a master's degree in interior architecture.
Dally said that, with the help of ADCRR, she, Mohammed, Wright and criminal justice doctoral student Alexis Klemm were able to transform the room into “a lighter, brighter and quieter environment.”
“Through thoughtful furniture selection, we introduced flexibility to the room, allowing it to adapt to various groups and functions — a feature it never had before,” Dally said.
Mohammed said the project successfully models how academics, government and the extended community can work together to help solve a pressing national problem: readying incarcerated persons for life outside.
Christy, another incarcerated woman, said she was motivated to participate in the project by the idea of having a dedicated space for brainstorming, open discussions and teaching.
Seeing her and the other women’s ideas come to life was a breath of fresh air, Christy said.
“I take pride in being part of a creation that will endure beyond our time,” she said.
Another incarcerated woman, Bernadette, said despite the two-year length of the project, she was exhilarated by the finished product.
“It feels amazing, so amazing, to see something beautiful and uplifting, a space to learn and focus and feel like one matters,” she said.
The facility’s staff is also enjoying a refreshed space to retreat to.
According to a statement from the ADCRR, the Staff Wellness Room is a dedicated space that supports the well-being of the ASPC-Perryville staff, providing “a calming and tranquil environment for staff to decompress, unplug from the typical fast-paced environment of the prison complex and access wellness services.”
The staff room features soothing, soft-colored walls that promote a peaceful atmosphere, the department said.
Warden Lori Stickley said the staff room “gives our team members a space entirely dedicated to their well-being, empowering them to prioritize their mental and emotional health.
"I’d like to thank ASU’s Center for Correctional Solutions for arranging for the donation of the reclining chairs, which make the space welcoming and comfortable for everyone.”
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