Medium
Text
Form
Interview quote
Artist / Maker
Voluntary sector staff member, HMP/YOI Lincoln
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Lincoln is still my favourite prison and it always will be my favourite prison to work in. And I don’t know how much of that is about the buildings or it’s just about the people inside… I think you do just get that proper sense of community in a Victorian prison. Everyone’s in it together, there’s some huge characters in there, and everyone just pulls together and makes the best of what they’ve got.
We want to understand what these prisons are like to live and work in, and how has this changed over time. We are examining the ways that these prison buildings carry traces of the past, while operating in the present day.
The project considers how and why these buildings have survived for so long, and asks how we will know when they have reached the end of their operational lives. We consider the significance of the Victorian prison in shaping public and professional ideas of what prison should be like. Crucially, this project explores the implications of the continued operation of Victorian-era prisons for the contemporary prison service, and aims to inform policy development.