Most artworks produced within the system are not shared beyond the workshop or prison walls. In Resolution, all artworks are presented in the gallery as part of our major exhibitions programme, and outputs and learnings shared with relevant expert audiences (incarcerated participants, researchers, criminologists, and government representatives).

Resolution invites artists, incarcerated people and their families, prison staff, policy makers and criminology researchers to work together as project participants. Working in this way creates the opportunity for dialogue within the system - and ultimately, a hope for change.

Since 2019, our Learning team has worked with artists Melanie Crean, Katrina Palmer, Ain Bailey and Amartey Golding in prisons across Liverpool, Rochdale and York. Incarcerated people, members of staff, and those who influence decision-makers were invited to take part in the project. Each of the collaborations culminated in the commissioning of four new artworks, presented to the public across a series of exhibitions at FACT in 2024:

• Melanie Crean (exhibited in On the other side) (1 March - 2 June 2024)

• Katrina Palmer (exhibited in On the other side) (1 March - 2 June 2024)

• Ain Bailey (19 April - 7 July 2024)

• Amartey Golding (8 August - 27 October 2024)

FACT has a long history of working with the justice system with collaborations and commissions stretching back to 2014. Much of our work explores the complexity of veteran identity and experiences within the justice system. More recently, and learning from our collaborators, artists have worked with a wider community of justice affected people: imprisoned people and their families, members of staff including those who provide education and support within prisons, and key people who influence decision making around law and policy.

In 2019 we began Resolution with the support of Paul Hamlyn Foundation. We partnered with Liverpool John Moores University and formalised our long-term relationship with collaborator Dr Emma Murray (Senior Lecturer in Criminal Justice) who took on the unique role of Criminologist-in-Residence at FACT. Emma redefined the role of an embedded researcher and has been key in the development of Resolution, helping us to co-produce the project and disseminate it’s research between arts organisations, penal reform campaigners and criminological researchers. As Criminologist-in-Residence, Emma facilitates knowledge exchange. This happens by creating a space for dialogue around the Resolution artworks, or by bringing other researchers and decision makers to the project as participants. Ultimately, the residency creates opportunities to align social science and art.

To learn more about how artists have worked with the justice system, and the artworks that have been commissioned, browse our archive by tapping on the artist names below.