Wad-Ras Women’s Penitentiary Center, Barcelona
September – October 2018.
After the Model’s closure, Wad-Ras is the last prison in the city of Barcelona; the penitentiary center is located in the Poblenou district and counts with 579 inmate women. In Catalonia, women represent 7% of people held in jail and ” Voices among walls” is an artistic and scientific proposal that wants to give them voice and visibility. Outside, the audience hears their testimony and receives a series of instructions that are to be corresponded.
“Voices among walls” is both a site-specific intervention that voices the inmates of the Wad-Ras Women’s Prison in Barcelona and an experiment-event that is live-streamed from the inside out through the sound. It is an unusual project curated by Ada Vilaró and Josep Perelló, which combines performing arts and Citizen Science and aims to represent the interaction and cooperation that is established among the inmates, and between them and people in the street. It takes place only once, on October 21st 2018, during the 17th edition of the Escena Poblenou festival. That day, outside the walls, the audience listens to the testimonies of the inmates and participates in a citizen science action that faces them with a number of social dilemmas.
One month before the performance, on September 17th 2018, a preparatory workshop is held with 15 inmates. They play in pairs both: without knowing with whom they are playing, or after having stared at each others prior to playing. During the performance, the inmates are to play with people outside the prison walls: prior to making their decisions, the public listens the voice of the inmate partner, and react.
The results show that, in most cases and regardless of the game round, the dominant strategy is to cooperate. Minor differences arise in the third round, when the inmates and the public outside the prison’s wall are interacting, which shows a higher cooperation rate.
The results allow us to explore social behaviors within the Wad-Ras penitentiary center: how the inmates interact with each other and how they interact with strangers from the street. It is this new way of doing science that contributes to de-stigmatize the inmate women, and to initiate a process of self-reflection and recognition through a collective action.
In collaboration with:
Ada Vilaró
Festival Escena Poblenou
Centre Penitenciari de Dones Wad-Ras