The “Life lines” project is based on the idea that people have their own unique stories that consist of struggle, triumph, gains and losses, stories that are rich with insights and valuable lessons. Through a series of unique workshops participants engage in a storytelling process, uncovering key experiences in their lives that will be expressed through visual arts, music and spoken word/rap. The workshop ends with the completion of one unified collaborative creation. We host an interactive exhibition for the public in which we showcase the process and end product.

Our first project together was in 2016  in “Teylingereind” juvenile detention centre with the capacity of housing 92 youth. Facilitated by Young in Prison it provided an opportunity for us to implement our Lifelines project to a group of 10 long sentenced youth. Several people labeled this group as the most difficult to motivate. We took the approach of Hip Hop (visual arts and music) to invite the youth to share their personal stories. We found that in that way we could have more of an impact and trigger different inspirations that is sometimes limited when using one artform. Despite the huge and multiple challenges that exist when doing a long term project in a Prison, we had a great process and outcome. In the end we had a presentation hosted, in which the youngsters were able to share their art and explain the life event surrounding it to staff members and other youth. 

In 2016 we ran our second Lifelines project through Young in Prison in “het Poortje” situated in Veenhuizen. Het Poortje is one of the oldest juvenile detention centres in the Netherlands with the capacity of housing 68 youngsters. In Veenhuizen we worked with a group of 10 youngsters serving long term sentences. The group was quite diverse, in age and cultural backgrounds. Some had never been in touch with Hip Hop and others were fully engaged in it. The outcome was very unique and powerful. One of the youngsters who had never shared his story before, did it in front of the whole group for the first time. The group, from youngsters to staff members, applauded him for that. As opposed to our first Life Lines project, this time we worked mostly outdoors and with spray paint.