Incarcerated First Nations artists share their dreams at Carlton gallery

Incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists will have their “future dreaming” on display at The Torch Gallery in Carlton from October 25 to November 23.

An initiative of The Torch program, the exhibition features 250 artworks by incarcerated First Nations artists across Victoria’s 14 prisons.

The artists have each explored the concept of “future dreaming”, which The Torch described as “using brushes, paint and canvas” to “explore dreamt and potential pathways ahead of their release”.

One of the artists is Lachy, a Wotjobaluk man. He painted a red-tailed black cockatoo in an artwork entitled “Facing These Challenges”.

“Like the red-tailed black cockatoo, I will rise above the circle of jail and addiction and rekindle my relationship with my daughter as I have with my son,” his artist statement said.

“I'll shed these feathers once and for all and watch them fall all the way to the floor.”

For over a decade, The Torch program has been breaking the cycle of reoffence by supporting First Nations people in custody to learn about their culture and country, as well as developing their artistic skills.

Since 2016, program participants have been able to earn income from their art while in prison under the Victorian Aboriginal Art Policy.

Felicity Chafer-Smith is a former program participant, who now works for The Torch.

“Life before prison, there wasn’t really much of one. I had no goals, I had no intentions,” she said.

“When I used to put my name into Google, news reports of the bad choices I’ve made in my life would appear. But now, I have things appear that I’m proud of, because I am a part of The Torch program."

“I couldn’t imagine my life without painting now.”

According to a program evaluation, 11 per cent of Torch participants returned to prison, compared to the average of 53.4 per cent for Indigenous people.

This year’s exhibition is particularly pertinent in light of the latest Closing the Gap data, which showed the incarceration rate for Indigenous adults was increasing.

Artworks at the Future Dreaming exhibition are priced between $180 and $330, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going directly to the artists.

The Torch gallery is located at 146 Elgin St and the exhibition will be open from October 25 to November 23, Tuesday to Friday from 1pm to 5pm, and Saturday from 11am to 3pm.