Showcasing the talents of emerging artists behind bars

We’ve partnered with Community Arts Projects (CAP) UK to exhibit the artwork of inmates from prisons across the UK.

At Redemption Roasters, we’re on a mission to reduce reoffending rates. Our training enables graduates to find meaningful employment; providing stability and helping them to defy social stigmas. We operate a roastery inside one prison and we run barista academies in three more. Five years in, we’re well-accustomed to the challenges working on the inside, but it’s not often we find other companies that are brave enough to take on the task.

Enter, Chris. He’s a former graffiti artist and the founder of CAP UK. Chris and his team know the power of art as therapy and they run workshops in several different prisons, helping residents to creatively express their experiences. Many have never felt a canvas, picked up a paintbrush or heard the nudge of encouragement that, when it comes to art, there is no wrong answer. Through weekly workshops residents can practice their personal styles and collaborate on larger pieces to brighten up the prison walls. Once class is over, Chris makes sure everyone is well-stocked with materials to take back to their rooms, for when inspiration strikes at 2am. Residents then share their creations at the next workshop, building confidence in their abilities.

Early this year we were on the hunt for an artist to help us fill the walls of our coffee shops when we were introduced to CAP UK by Claudia, our barista trainer at HMP Send. CAP UK run their art workshop in the dining room next to our barista academy, allowing for a strategic stream of “test” flat whites to flow from one room to the next. Once we’d discovered this bunch of coffee-loving budding artists, we knew we’d found our art partners.

We’ve filled the walls of our Covent Garden coffee shop with pieces that showcase the talents of prison residents. Not just because it’s great to stare at as you glug a latte, but because we want to challenge society’s perception of people behind bars. Creativity, contemplation and a commitment to change are abundant in the CAP UK workshops, alongside a new hum of excitement that pieces produced on the inside might make their way into our London coffee shops and be enjoyed by hundreds of people.

We want to make sure we’re sharing artwork beyond our walls, so we’ve also designed all of our limited edition single origin coffee cards to each feature a piece of art from one prison resident supported by CAP UK.