No admission: An exploration of identity, artistry and humanity

“Too frequently we are put in this box… shunned as monsters, demons, the worst of the worst. But I’m a son, a father and a friend. And I can paint. I am kind. I am compassionate. I am human too”  

Ellie Brown has spent the last few months in HMP Whitemoor working with the residents to develop photography self-portraits and to explore identity in prison.  In this event for the Cambridge Festival of Ideas Ellie will – through the medium of film and photography - take you behind the walls of this high security prison to understand more about the individuals, their stories and their identities.  

Through her work, Ellie explores how labels are not fixed and that being imprisoned should not preclude you from being an artist, musician, poet,  friend, ‘human too’.  Ellie’s work highlights how creativity can thrive even in the darkest of spaces; that something beautiful can be created not in spite of pain but because of it. Art allows individuals to convey visceral ideas – to communicate pain, vulnerability and the frailty of humanity. Words can be limiting but art can be liberating. 

Tickets for members of the general public are available here.