Prison tourism is a growing segment for travelers who enjoy seeing and experiencing a more “off the beaten trail” holiday. Eastern State – Pennsylvania Reportedly one of the most haunted incarceration sites in the world, the Eastern State Penitentiary near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the U.S, the institution is open year round for guided tours, and during the(…)

Life as a prisoner today varies widely by the type of crime committed, the facility one is confined to, and of course, the country of incarceration. While you may have “experienced” prison life via reality television in recent years, odds are that the actual experience is much more severe than the television programs portray. No(…)

London’s Brixton Prison run by Her Majesty’s Prison Service is facing media attention with the release of a report from an authorised invigilator for the facility. The report reveals the on-going concern of Cannabissmoking amongst the inmates that officers are constantly endeavouring to deal with. Because of the incessant smoking of Cannabis by inmates, officers’ uniforms reek(…)

 ”Girls Behind Bars: Female Experiences of Justice” Over thirty years ago, Eve MacDougall was imprisoned as a teenager for two years for breaking a window. Now she works with Together, a mental health support organisation, as an exhibition curator and liaison for the new project, “Common Sense Approach to Working with Women Offenders.” Her recent(…)

At the age of 15, Eve MacDougall broke a storefront window at a bakery to steal a loaf of bread. Hungry and desperate, she soon realised that behind the busted window, there were only plastic ornamental loaves. For that crime, she was sentenced to and served two years in a women’s prison. Surrounded by adults,(…)

Alberta’s Drumheller Institution, Bowden Institution and Edmonton Institution for Women In 2010, Elizabeth Withey of the Edmonton Journal in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) compiled a series of stories based around artwork being produced in area detention centres. These short video documentaries highlight some of the positive effects that the creative process has had directly on the(…)

From Nov. 2 to Dec. 15, 2013, Koestler Trust organised an exhibition in Glasgow’s Tramway. The show featured artwork from prisons and other secure facilities, e.g., children’s homes, immigrant detention centres and hospitals, and was curated by youth from the Kibble Safe Centre in Paisley, which is a secure children’s care and education centre and(…)