Entering London’s Southbank Centre, I had a sense of trepidation at seeing my artworks on display. There were 7,500 entries for this year’s Koester Awards, all from prisoners or people on probation, and 220 were chosen to go on display at the annual exhibition – of which three were mine. I’d been entering the awards for a few years. I’d sold some of my pieces; one was made into a postcard; and one won a Bronze award last year. But this year it was different: I was released in 2024, so for the first time I was able to visit in person.
Koestler Arts invited me to a friends and family day on November 30, to share my pride and accomplishments with loved ones over lunch and a guided tour. I created the three pieces whilst serving my sentence at HMP Peterborough, under the guidance of the experienced and passionate art teacher Christopher Wells. I worked as the Learning Assistant, supporting other prisoners to develop their art, to enter Koestler, and to complete their Level 1 and 2 Art qualifications.
Our group was mostly family members of those still incarcerated, with a few artists among us. We stopped in front of various artworks, where people were invited to share their stories. We heard from a mother about what inspired her son’s painting, and from a sister about how art helps her brother to maintain his mental health whilst locked in his cell. I was invited up repeatedly to explain how and why I created my pieces, and the difficulties I faced in trying to express my artistic side whilst in the prison environment.
One of my works, titled ‘Empowerment’, was unusual in that it was made from three bras, with detail that I had embroidered on the fabric. I spotted one of the bras displayed in a glass cabinet, with a well-lit background that showcased my needlecraft. I explained to the group how the bras had been sent in to me by a kind friend, but as they were completely the wrong size, I had put them to a different use! My cross-stitch piece, ‘The Face of an International Woman’, was equally well displayed under glass.
On the wall was my ‘Prison Tube’ artwork, and I was told that it was a focus of interest for many of the exhibition’s visitors. Based on the London Underground map, it aims to illustrate people’s journeys through the justice system, in order to explain life ‘inside’ through a design familiar to a lay person on the ‘outside’. Station names are replaced by stages in the prison journey. Each Tube line represents a theme: the Northern line shows the process of being arrested and charged; the Central line represents the constant of family and friends supporting us, should we be lucky enough to have them; the Piccadilly line follows rehabilitation and courses; the Circle line displays coming into prison, being released, then being recalled.
Pride emanated from me, as I struggled to acknowledge the acclaim from the other guests and Koestler staff. It was bittersweet seeing my artwork so prominently displayed, but without my name alongside it. This felt as if I had no ownership over my own work and was therefore detached from the piece. However, the friends I brought with me were as delighted as I was to see my work displayed. It was humbling to know that my work had been selected by the exhibition’s prestigious curators, who clearly valued my creativity and skill.
These pieces were created at a dark time in my life, and art gave me a sense of hope, freedom and escapism whilst incarcerated. I’d encourage anyone in prison to explore the creative arts and enter the Koestler awards.