'Art can be a game-changer for people in prison'

Could you tell me something about Koestler Arts? How could Psychologists get involved?

Koestler Arts is the UK's leading prison arts charity. We hold an annual Arts Awards scheme for people in criminal justice settings to help encourage those in custody to lead more creative and positive lives. This year, we received over 7,500 entries across 52 different art forms, ranging from music, poetry, needlecraft, painting, graphic novels and hairstyling. Each year the Awards are judged by a panel of experts who give out Awards, feedback and monetary prizes, and every participating artist receives a certificate to encourage them to continue creating. Additionally, the charity puts on exhibitions and offers post-release mentoring, employment opportunities and family engagement projects to further support the potential of people in secure settings.

One of the most important parts of the Awards for entrants is the potential to receive feedback on their artwork – we aim to give every entrant at least one piece of feedback, and with over 3,000 entrants this is a big challenge. 

Receiving handwritten feedback shows entrants that someone has taken the time to look at, think about and respond to their artwork, and this offers connection and motivation to keep creating. We host feedback days at the Koestler Arts Centre in London where we invite volunteers to come for a day or two and write feedback on artworks.

Coming to our offices or exhibitions and writing feedback could be an opportunity for Psychologists to connect with artworks created in secure settings on a personal level, and to engage with themes relating to these environments, such as mental health struggles, missing family and friends and isolation,4  but also humour, escapism and reflections on current politics.

How does participation in the arts change the lives of those in the criminal justice system? And how does it change the perception by others of those people?

I've realised that I've expressed myself through negative things all my life and now I express myself through art and no one gets hurt and no one gets locked up. - Koestler Awards entrant

Art can be a game-changer for people in prison, often providing a springboard for positive change. Each year our entrants report that being creative and entering their work into the Koestler Awards positively impacts their mental wellbeing, confidence and sense of community while in custody, and that through art they have found positive ways to express their thoughts and feelings.

Every year Koestler Arts holds exhibitions and events across the UK. We do this to showcase the talent and potential of people in secure settings, and to offer the public an opportunity to engage with and learn more about the creativity within these settings. Our public exhibitions, which are free to attend, create a space for audiences to reflect on the role of the criminal justice system, potentially for the first time, and connect, through creativity, with those who have experience of it.

Being selected to have work displayed in an exhibition helps build confidence and create a sense of achievement, that a lot of our beneficiaries tell us they haven't experienced before. It also offers them the chance to create a connection and strengthen ties to the outside world and their communities, which many in custody are excluded from. Koestler Arts runs special days where family and friends of the exhibited artists are invited to spend time with the artworks, take pictures with them, and feel proud of their loved one's achievements.

I didn't think I could ever be proud of [my son] again but I am, we both are. My mind is at a certain peace and all this has been brought about by The Koestler Arts Exhibition. - Family of exhibited artist

Our 2016 Southbank Centre curator, the late Benjamin Zephaniah, named his show We Are All Human and this sentiment runs throughout the charity's public showcasing.

Can you say something about the themes and content of this year's exhibition?

This year's exhibition, No Comment, is co-curated by Turner Prize winner Jeremey Deller and former prisoner-turned-artist John Costi and will open at the Southbank Centre in London on 1 November. Deller has been a longstanding supporter of the charity, volunteering each summer to help judge the Koestler Awards while Costi has come full circle in his journey with the charity, from award-winner to mentee, scholar, member of staff, Awards judge, and now co-curator of the annual exhibition.

Both artists have a distinctive collaborative artistic practice and decided to invite six other creatives with different roles in the art world to contribute to the process of selecting the pieces to bring in multiple viewpoints and ideas. Abbas Zahedi, Andrea Emelife, Jonny Banger (Sports Banger collective), Larry Achiampong, Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE and Zakia Sewell each selected around 15 artworks which will be on display with those chosen by Deller and Costi.

Just over 200 pieces in total from over 7,500 submissions will be on display in the exhibition. The idea for the title, No Comment, was sparked by a piece of artwork selected for the show [above] which depicts a person obscured by a large microphone. 

The painting prompted discussions about the lack of opportunities for people in secure settings to share their voices and opinions. The exhibition provides that platform and the curators wanted to 'let the art speak for itself', showing the range of topics and interests of artists within these settings. It will feature a range of art forms, including music, poetry, painting, sculpture, ceramics and photography.

Image:
No Comment – 2024 Koestler Arts exhibition
Co-curated by Jeremy Deller and John Costi
1 November – 15 December 2024
Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall