STREETS ARE MESSY

The Ebook contains clickable audio which will redirect you to the Streets are Messy album on Soundcloud. Please download the fabulous collection here:

Streets Are Messy eBook.pdf

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Streets Are Messy is a collaborative arts project created for the Koestler Awards, bringing together a collection of raps tracks, poems, quotes, lyrics, sound bites and a 20-minute podcast exploring life on the streets. In the end, the collection was not authorised to be submitted by the prison because they deemed the some of the content to be inappropriate and though we can understand their position, we believe that brutal reflective honesty is the only way to challenge and change perspectives.. noone is glorifying anything in this collection, simply stating life as it is for them.

The work was developed by 12 participants in a music group delivered by Get Wise, commissioned by HMP Morton Hall. Since completing the project, some of the men have moved on to other establishments or been released. The participants represent a range of UK cities including Nottingham, Manchester, Luton, London and Bolton, and while all were born outside of the UK, most arrived as young children and identify strongly as British. Honest self-expression was central to the process and it was the participants themselves who insisted on the freedom to tell the truth in their own words. A key part of the work was then supporting the men to shape that truth in a way that could be heard without causing offence allowing their voices to remain authentic while being accessible to a wider audience. This has resulted in material that is at times raw and challenging but deeply considered. Shaping the work into a form accessible to audiences less familiar with street and criminal life required care, persistence and mutual trust. Sessions combined creative writing, music technology, vocal work and live performance all produced under challenging conditions with limited equipment, a single shared space and no soundproofing, demanding patience and commitment from both participants and tutor. The group consistently expressed that the process offered a meaningful break from prison life, allowing them to reconnect with themselves, share their talents and articulate their hopes and realities. The result is a body of work that reflects the human spirit navigating struggle, identity and resilience.