Arts Access Aotearoa
An exhibition celebrating the work of artists in prisons across Aotearoa is on at Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt until Sunday 1 February 2026.
Called "Worn: Prisoners' shoes and the stories they tell", the exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the people behind the shoes and their path towards healing and change.
It showcases how prisoners express their creativity through the programmes delivered by tertiary institution The Learning Connexion, in partnership with Ara Poutama Aotearoa Department of Corrections.
Through The Learning Connexion’s Restricted Programmes, 130 men and women are studying art long-distance from all but one of the prisons around the country.
Delivering “vital long-distance services”
Currently, the programmes offer study from Level 4 to Level 6. Neil Wallace, Arts in Corrections Advisor at Arts Access Aotearoa, says The Learning Connexion has been delivering these “vital long-distance services” in Corrections facilities for the past 19 years.
Using a plain white canvas shoe, literally a “blank canvas”, more than 50 artists reveal their personal stories and share the journeys they are making towards recovery and rehabilitation.
“Every one of these artworks represents a person striving for change and someone learning to rewrite their story,” Neil says.
“The Learning Connexion has spent nearly two decades empowering people in our prisons to discover their creativity, confidence and potential, and gain qualifications.
“When there’s an investment in arts education like this, we’re investing in hope, healing and safer communities for all of us.”
An invitation to reconsider assumptions
Presented together, these shoes invite you to reconsider assumptions about incarceration and creativity, says Sharon Hall, Operations Director, The Learning Connexion.
“They serve as poignant reminders of art’s power to restore agency, communicate resilience and foster connection,” Sharon says.
“The exhibition not only celebrates artistic talent within restricted circumstances but also reclaims an everyday object, reframing it as a canvas for hope and renewal.
The Learning Connexion hopes the exhibition can tour nationally over the next two years.
Among the artist comments about their work are:
• “My artwork represents the type of person I am.”
• “Coming from living the life of a criminal and ex-con to a proud Māori tane, rich in my culture and Māoridom. Knowing who you are helps who you want to be.”
• “These are about my home – Samoa, my family and what I miss being in Aotearoa. My heart belongs to Samoa.”
• “These shoes show the wear of walking a mile in my shoes as a dairy farmer and NZ rep swimmer with memories of my grandfather, a nurse in WWII.”
Special thanks all those who helped to make this happen: The Learning Connexion Educational Trust, Ara Poutama Aotearoa Department of Corrections and Whirinaki Whare Taonga. The exhibition was supported by the Creative Communities Scheme and the Upper Hutt City Council.
The Learning Connexion is a member of the Arts in Corrections Network, facilitated by Arts Access Aotearoa. For more information about the Network
