A French Perspective on Culture in Prison

The article investigates cultural activities in French prisons in light of the 1986 protocol between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Justice. It looks at the main stakeholders involved to understand how decisions are being made; to uncover the motivations of cultural institutions and artists to perform in prison; to highlight the main difficulties; and finally, to see how actions are being evaluated. An in-depth literature review as well as interviews with the main stakeholders have been performed. As a consequence, a comprehensive perspective is given to this rather unique configuration of culture in prison.