Koestler Arts Information

Koestler Arts runs the UK’s largest awards and exhibitions programme recognising creative work by people in secure settings. Each year we receive more than 7,000 entries to the Koestler Awards from over 3,500 people in prisons, young offender institutions, secure hospitals and immigration centres, and on community sentences and probation. More than 100 creative experts and volunteers review the work and give feedback to entrants, granting over 2,000 Awards across 53 categories. Selected work is published and shared with audiences across the UK, culminating each year in a curated exhibition at Southbank Centre. When this work is seen by the public, it can challenge assumptions about people in the justice system and open up new ways of thinking about identity, creativity and the future, for entrants and audiences alike. For many participants, it’s a chance to connect with the world as an artist, rather than through the label of prisoner.