Musician Annah Mac has spent the past 18 months in prison - voluntarily.
The former Southland pop starlet, who rose to fame more than six years ago with her song Girl in Stilettos, approached the Corrections department with a plan.
For a year and a-half she has worked with prisoners at Otago Corrections Facility, teaching them to play the ukulele and, most importantly, how to write their own songs.
The Kowhai Project, as the pilot programme has been dubbed, culminated in a recent concert where inmates got to show off their talents alongside their mentor.
Some of those on stage were serving lengthy sentences - rap sheets longer than the tattoos that snaked up and down their legs.
It was hard to tell, though, as they strummed the tiny instruments and took the audience through a wide repertoire, including traditional waiata, Country Road, by John Denver, and modern hits such as George Ezra's Budapest.
Intense focus quickly relaxed into a raised eyebrow between performers and wide grins by the end as they were applauded by staff and fellow inmates.
``By crikey, fellas. Fair dinkum,'' one impressed prisoner aptly summarised during the ovation.
Mac said the idea for the programme had germinated following a trip to Mt Eden prison to work with remand prisoners when she was signed to Sony.
``It just blew me away,'' she said.
The 26-year-old admitted she was afraid when she first entered the Milton facility, unsure of what to expect.
Some tutored by Mac were serving life sentences, but she immediately told them she did not want to know why they had been locked up, instead focusing on the music.
``Like most things, I threw myself into it,'' she said.
One of those who benefited from her commitment was ``Jerome'' (not his real name), who said the two years he had left to serve had been softened by the experience.
``Music is something I've always been interested in.
``Having this course helped me get a few things out.
``It wasn't just the songwriting but learning how to write your thoughts down. Getting the heavy things off your chest, it helps you do that,'' he said.
Jerome described Mac as ``awesome''.
``[She] just pointed us in the right direction and let us do our own thing creatively, but she gave us a basis and a structure to put it all together.''
Mac said her rapid ascent to pop prominence felt like a ``lifetime'' ago.
``Although it was lovely having that time [with a record label] and having people tell you what to do, it is nice to just do it at my own pace and do what I like.
``I'm just trying to release good-quality music and not putting a time pressure on myself.''
While prison might seem an unusual place for an artist to revel, Mac said running the project had been hugely rewarding and she was keen to see it grow and spread to other facilities.
``I love coming here,'' she said. ``I love it.''
