Kresti jail meets Bijlmer jail


In 2013 The Netherlands commemorated the Dutch-Russian friendship year. The Themis Foundation for Prison Reform organized a cultural project, in which art by Russian artists and artistic convicts of the famous Kresti jail in St. Petersburg was combined with art made by convicts of the Bijlmer Bajes (Bijlmer jail) in Amsterdam. These convicts belong to the top 600 criminals of the City of Amsterdam, who are subjected to a strict rehabilitation program to give them better chances to reintegrate into society.
The results of the project were auctioned during a festive evening at the famous De Bazel Building, now housing the Amsterdam City Archives. Supportees of the Peter Faber Foundation, founded by the Dutch actor Peter Faber aiming at building the self-confidence of former convicts and to prevent relapse into criminality, performed rap music and recited poems about their former life as a criminal.
The concert pianist Andrej Hoteev, who grew up in St. Petersburg and as a child had a direct view on the Kresti jail from his home window, performed his unique interpretation of Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, based on the original manuscript.
All revenues were donated to the Themis Foundation for Prison Reform, working towards more humane living circumstances in jails world-wide.

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  • Book type: PDF
  • Suitable for: All digital media
  • Author: Marty Bax
  • Language: Dutch
  • Name tags: Bijlmer Bajes, Amsterdam, TOP 600, Kresti, St. Petersburg, Gebouw De Bazel, Andrej Hoteev, Peter Faber, Themis Founadtion for Prison Reform, GIP Global for Psychiatry