ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the collaborative and inclusive protocols employed in creating a multiple-narrative audio-visual gallery exhibition of interviews recorded at Armagh Gaol, Northern Ireland's prison for political and non-political female prisoners. It shows that the protocols of shared ownership and shared editorial control were essential to bringing these stories to the public. Alongside collaborative protocols, the Prisons Memory Archive (PMA) adopted specific recording strategies which attempted to minimise levels of mediation between the participant and the audience. Participants particularly valued the protocols of the right to veto and shared editorial control, citing the latter as a major factor in their decision both to take part and to remain involved in the project. Editorial control in particular, although minimally used, provided participants with a sense of safety and control. The editor may choose clips less likely to contradict each another, in order to prevent participant withdrawal, thereby presenting a safe and non-contentious exhibition.
