Fine Cell Work
The late Lady Anne Tree was a pioneering force for change within Britain’ s prison system, tirelessly campaigning for prisoners to be paid for needlework. After three decades she succeeded, founding Fine Cell Work in 1997, and calling upon her illustrious interior design connections (her mother-in-law owned Colefax & Fowler) in the process. While executive director Victoria Gillies says the charity no longer has a need to lobby, Tree’s quietly radical premise persists. Names such as Neisha Crosland, Kit Kemp and soon Sophie Ashby, donate designs that are then entrusted to a network of some 600 prison stitchers.
To Gillies, keeping minds busy is as vital as keeping hands occupied. ‘It’s very therapeutic – you can’t stitch when you’re angry,’ she explains. ‘And the fact that this work is going on to be sold in the outside world makes the activity itself purposeful.’ A clever system allows Fine Cell Work to pass on customer ‘thank yous’, and a Battersea training workshop, launched in 2017, has opened doors for those now outside the system. A Sotheby’s exhibition earlier this year showcased eight exquisite works designed by contemporary stars, including Ai Weiwei, embroidered by the network, and Gillies hopes such skilful displays go some way to dismantling the prejudice surrounding prisoners, who are equally feared and forgotten. ‘Maybe that’s our quiet lobby,’ she adds. finecellwork.co.uk