Stories of Disability in the Past
Stories of disabled people in the Criminal Justice System in Ripon in the Victorian era.
This exhibition launched in October 2023 and was co-created by a group of people with lived experience of disability at Ripon Museums Trust.
Exploring questions such as what is the lived experience of disability? What is its history? What was it like in the Criminal Justice System in the Victorian era and what do we know about the lives of disabled people who encountered it?
The project aimed to encourage thinking about whether things are any different now? What will it be like in the future? What do we hope for and what do we fear?
A group of local people collaborated to creatively tell the stories of seven disabled people in the past. They created an art installation that included a film, objects, haikus, doodles and a zine.
The artwork explores the lives of seven disabled people who encountered the Criminal Justice System in Ripon for various reasons during the Victorian era. These were court cases that were heard at Ripon Court House and people who were held at Ripon House of Correction.
It is based on fragments of their lives captured in censuses, newspapers, and police and court records telling these tiny snapshots of a life, through storytelling.
Images from the exhibition:
Frederick William Jarvis
Created during September 2023 by Carol Turnbull, Charlie Dunning, Mary Jane Olivier, Margaret Crosfield, Glen Griffiths, Linda Richardson, Anna Moore, Nicola Bradbury, Stephen Lee Hodgkins and the Artmakers from Henshaw’s Arts And Crafts Centre for Ripon Museums Trust.
Download the Zine created for the exhibition.
Images from artist workshops
This exhibition was co-curated with neurodivergent artist Stephen Lee Hodgkins and individuals with lived experience of disability. The images below were captured during workshops where the concept for the exhibition and the artworks it featured were developed.
Special thanks to Jenny Clough, Pat Wilson, Jean Berry, Claire Greensit, John Holmes, Moira Smith and Mark Cronfield for their voice over recording, as well as Andy Bates and Laura Allan who coordinated and supported the project throughout.
The project was funded by Arts Council England
