WELCOME
Legally Detained was born from lived experience — from difficult chapters, uncomfortable conversations and the realisation that sometimes the things that shape us most can also become the things that connect us.
This is a space for those stories
A space to speak honestly, challenge assumptions, create something meaningful and make room for experiences that are too often misunderstood, overlooked or left unheard.
ART.
ACTIVISM.
LIVED EXPERIENCE.
UNAPOLOGETIC STORYTELLING.
WHAT STARTED WITH ONE PERSONS EXPERIENCES HAS GROWN INTO A PLATFORM FOR CREATIVITY, CHANGE AND CONNECTION.
Through speaking, workshops, consultancy, creative work, projects and content, Legally Detained explores the realities of people’s lives and finds new ways to turn experience into something that can be shared, understood and used to create something better.
You don’t have to have all the answers to start a conversation.
Sometimes, you just need someone to listen.
Legally Detained exists because experiences matter.
The things we go through can change us. They can challenge us, shape us and sometimes leave us wondering where we fit.
But they can also give us perspective, empathy, creativity and a voice.
This is a place to use that voice.
To start conversations.
To make space.
To create.
To connect.
And, hopefully, to remind someone that their experience matters too.
PEOPLE DONT NEED FIXING…
SYSTEMS DO.
Behind Legally Detained is a person with a story
a purpose and a reason for doing this work.
Behind Legally Detained is Hannah Whitfield — a creative activist, writer, performer and consultant whose work is rooted in lived experience.
From psychiatric inpatient care to stages, workshops, campaigns and creative projects, Hannah uses her own experiences to question the systems, assumptions and expectations that shape the lives of neurodivergent and marginalised people.
Come and meet the person behind the work.
Let’s work together
Looking for a speaker, facilitator, consultant or creative collaborator?
Hannah works with organisations, charities, arts spaces, services and individuals to bring lived experience, creativity and critical thinking into the room.
From speaking and workshops to consultancy, performance and creative development, there are lots of ways to work together.
Have an idea? Let’s talk.
projects
Ideas can become conversations, conversations can become projects, and projects can become something that reaches far beyond where they started. Explore the creative, community and social-impact projects developed through Legally Detained, and discover the stories, ideas and purpose behind each one.
Let’s start a conversation
Have an idea? Want to work together? Curious about a project or simply want to say hello? You don’t need to have everything figured out before you reach out. Tell Hannah what you’re thinking, what you’re working on or what you’d like to explore, and start the conversation from there.