Crafting Strength

There are problems in prisons, but all prisoners should be taking part in some form of ‘purposeful activity’, whether that be work, education or a vocational course.   Charlotte will show you pictures and craft objects of items that have been made inside prisons, and get you to think about how feminist criminologists might explore these items and their meaning, to the makers, the prison regime and the people who receive them.

Beyond work, education, or vocational training, time to work out and build up physical strength is culturally important to prisoners. Becky will guide you through crafting e-textile electrodes that you will use to monitor your own muscle activity. 

Charlotte is a Reader in Criminology at Northumbria University.  She is interested in creativity and art and craft in criminal justice systems, as well as how we understand images and stories of crime, punishment and prisoners.

Becky is a Lecturer in Digital Signal Processing at Queen Mary University of London. Her research looks at wearable technology for arts performance including e-textiles and audio signal processing. She’s @theleadingzero on Twitter.