Inspiring desistance? Arts projects and 'what works?'

This paper draws principally on a literature review that explored the question of whether Arts projects in prisons can inspire desistance from crime. The review, which aimed to connect the literatures on Arts projects in prisons, on learning in prisons and on desistance from crime, was undertaken to support the evaluation of a major Arts initiative in Scottish Prisons -- Inspiring Change -- which took place during 2010. A brief summary of the findings of the evaluation is also provided. The paper concludes that while it is unreasonable and unrealistic to expect Arts projects in and of themselves to 'produce' desistance, there is evidence that they can play a vital role in enabling prisoners to imagine and to embark on the desistance process