Agnès Rammant-Peeters was born as creative thinker. Before reaching 50, Agnès had been active in research as an Egyptologist (PhD) publishing about the upper keystone of pyramids and about early travels to the Orient. Towards the end of the century, she made a leap to rare books and contemporary art in her Brussels gallery, where she collected works from socially engaged young artists (catalog: https://emiledauw.com ).
Was it fate or providence that made Agnès enter the prisons half a century later, first in Louvain and later in Brussels? Admittedly during Agnès’ youth, her mother was concerned with the stigma placed on children of incarcerated mothers. At Christmas, she used to summon her children to assist her with making parcels for persons incarcerated at Bruges’s prisons.
From the year 2000 artists started joining her in her asbl ‘Art Without Bars’ whose activities were aimed at helping incarcerated persons express themselves with pencils and brushes. The results of the projects based on group creativity appeared crucial for the participants. With the Inmate Tattoo project both tattoos and body painting were put on view. The photo exhibition aimed at pulling down the taboos on tattoos in prison, today still forbidden in Belgian prisons. The exhibition traveled for three years through Flanders and Wallonia, both inside and outside the prisons and even reached the Brussels parliament.
During a prolific first decade, the incarcerated persons appeared to be eager to explore the concept of beauty and did so during workshops with artist A.M. Van Kerckhoven in the women’s section of the prison in Lille (FR). Following the workshops, A.M. Van Kerckhoven and Agnès fostered the dream of an art book especially conceived for them De facto it was the frustration of the women deprived of their children, and also the repeated boycott of the workshops that created a very strong bond between all participants. Soon the idea of an ‘artpad’ was born. The artpad became an interactive workbook for those incarcerated and for individuals with mental or physical disabilities. It showcases highlights of art history through a selection of masterpieces treating subjects such as exclusion, pain and prohibition of speech.
Today artpads are still ‘smuggled’ into prison libraries in Belgium and abroad. The large workbook is preferably used within a group. One may draw or paint on blank pages, one can express ideas or rethink the masterpieces. In this ‘free space’, quite some blasphemy is invited. For example, the inmates aim to challenge the problematic vision of J.Lacan on surveillance. Over the years some of the most visionary creations, visuals, and texts about this subject have been added as prints to the book.
The art pad was used by therapists of the high-security prison of Vught (NL); the English version was in use in the largest women’s prison in Western Europe, namely in Holloway (EN). Unfortunately, the creative atrium with its multiple workshops was demolished at the prison closure in 2016; the artpad lost one of its homes.
In 2018 the harsh situation of overcrowded Belgian prisons and the lack of courage by the authorities,made Agnès convince her board to welcome in the premises recently released incarcerated persons as well as forensic patients. In a well protected environment, she worked with both art students and art therapists. These participants honored with the title Top Hats, gave their permission to participate in a video about the project. The Top Hats engaged with the production of shadows, body expression, and music. This gave way to a manual explaining of how to gradually unlock artist’s will by the participants. How to play with shadow and light’ was written by two young artists and Agnès; they engaged in training programs.
3 X Hubertus was launched in 2019 as an audiovisual project and resulted in an exhibition still in progress. By engraving deer antlers, participants with different judicial pasts, astonish through texts and visuals. In addition, they made the audio recordings of their organ music and of forest sounds (https://en.artwithoutbars.be/).
Recently a talented released prisoner offered to design a fountain inspired by the famous tryptic The Mystic Lamb (Ghent). It will feature a portrait of a Belgian almoner famous in Peru, but today unpopular within the Church in Europe because of his questioning of democracy and his fight to prove the innocence of hundreds of prisoners in times of terrorism. Hubert Lanssiers (1929-2006) was also the founding father of art therapy in Lima prisons and Art Without Bars intends to make his legacy known so it can inspire penitentiary fields worldwide. Publishing this man’s writings, and organizing his exhibition, film screenings and lectures are Agnes’s latest aspirations. The translations of his Los Dientes del Dragon in French and Dutch are in the making.
Art Without Bars has been supported for the bygone 25 years by a group of volunteers. Agnès now aims at directing a team of young professionals able to convince the penitentiary authorities to support culture, not only for successful rehabilitation but also to enrich the society outside the prison. The objective is to replace the harmful focus on repression by fostering self-esteem amongst incarcerated persons and to develop their critical sense. This way detention centers may turn into real care centers from where positive, inclusive projects originate.
Agnès curated with inmates of Andenne prison three consecutive exhibitions at the museum of Flemish Expressionism in Deurle (2015). She is currently preparing an exhibition on the topic of art as restorative tool in collaboration with KADOC (University of Louvain).
ART WITHOUT BARS started in 2000, as an association coupling art exhibitions in prison with workshops organised for inmates.
The organisation established itself officially in 2005. Now Art Without Bars organises exhibitions of work by free artists within the walls of the prison, but also art produced by detainees and not detained artists in public places. Art Without Bars today aims to promote alternative methods for reintegration including multidisciplinary workshops for persons with a juridical past. These workshops have been organised since January 2017 in the Poorthuis which has free access and is easily located on the ring of Leuven.
For its activities Art Without Bars works with partners.
An example:
Exhibition L’imaginair griffoné. During “Le Festival des Libertés” in November 2007 an exhibition took place in Brussels in cooperation with The service for moral assistance to inmates where pictures of graffiti were exhibited. Caricatures of 19th-C. jailers and photographs of graffiti were also displayed.
The collection, which is part of the file of AWB (see. infra) contains both graffiti of the penitentiary of Vilvoorde and recent graffiti of the heat insulation cell of Oudenaarde.
Graffiti and tattoos are “cell mates”. Until today both let inmates give way to their feelings, although it’s illegal.
In the penitentiary in Vilvoorde splendid flower aims have been kept, beside simple landscapes and shabby drawings. The pin-stripes to count days, but also texts as e.g. “4 years in this pen without sun or s(ex)” press hanker to the freedom from, and deeper still: the universal sense against cloistering
Overview of exhibitions with workshops organized in Belgian prisons and closed centers:
| Leuven Centraal: October – November 2000 | Timur NOVIKOV |
| Leuven Hulpgevangenis: December -January 2000-2001 | Timur NOVIKOV |
| St.-Gillis: September 2002 | Joulia STRAUSSOVA |
| St.-Gillis: March – April 2002 | Timur NOVIKOV |
| Oudenaarde: December 2002 | Marcel MAEYER |
| Cultureel Centrum Maagdendale | Timur NOVIKOV |
| Tournai: December – January 2004 – 2005 | Timur NOVIKOV |
| Nivelles: January 2005 | Sam DILLEMANS |
| Hoogstraten: March – April 2006 | Timur NOVIKOV |
|
2008 to 2016: travelling exhibition 2022 to 2026: travelling exhibition 3 x HUBERTUS |
Inmate Tattoo |
Overview of exhibitions Art Story
| Leuven Centrale Bibliotheek KULeuven: May 2013 | To Dream beyond Walls |
| Deurle, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens November 2014 – March 2015 | This World of cut Thorns |
Art Without Bars celebrates its 10th year of existence
The Museum Dr. Guislain and Art Without Bars collaborated for the exhibition Fatalitas! Drawings by inmates of the interbellum period taking place from May 22 untill September 12 2010. The vernissage is on May 21. On May 27 a festive nocturne with lecture of stories of the interbellum by François Beukelaers will take palace . More information to be found by the link “Projects” (I) and at the secretary of Art Without Bars.
Library Art and Detention
Art Without Bars vzw is gradually building an archive on art in detention in the Poorthuis in Leuven. All items are digitally registered. The file can be consulted with search tools by researchers who register in advance. Visitors can consult the books on the spot.
This archive contains books, magazine articles as well as DVDs and covers the various art disciplines. Of course it is also possible to search by author and title as well as by specific headings such as ‘body art’, an area resulting from the project The ornamental body which AWB developed in 2008, in cooperation with De Witte Zaal in Ghent.
All books and information material concerning art in the penitentiary environment are gratefully accepted and digitally processed. X