Work by prisoners goes on show at The Sage Gateshead

Enlarge the image to see the full tapestry. Photo: North News & Pictures Enlarge Image

Inmates at five prisons have turned their hands to embroidery to make a tapestry for The Sage Gateshead.

The hand-stitched wall hanging, titled Bridging the Gap, took seven prisoners two years to make.

The project was a collaboration between the Gateshead venue and Fine Cell Work, an organisation that teaches prisoners needlework and sells their products.

Inmates work while they are locked in their cells and the idea is the earnings and new skills give them hope.

HMP Frankland in County Durham was one of the prisons involved.

Better people

Katy Emck, director of Fine Cell Work, said prisoners are taught to embroider to a professional standard and that the work helps improve their self-esteem.

"The object is to help them towards rehabilitation through this work, which gives them self discipline, purpose, which calms them down," she said.

"It enables them to imagine themselves as not just criminals but better people."

The prisoners stitched their thoughts on the back

The 3.5m x 1.5m Bridging the Gap tapestry will be on permanent display to the public in The Sage Gateshead.

The design was developed from the prisoners' drawings and ideas and features colourful kites and two silhouettes of faces in profile.

The finished work mixes stem stitch, chain stitch and kantha work, on chiffon, voile and felt.

On the back, the prisoners have embroidered words to describe their feelings.

The artwork was commissioned by the Jerwood Foundation, which sponsors visual and performance arts projects.

Fine Cell Work is now done in 26 English and Scottish prisons and 80% of the "stitchers" are men.