Antony Gormley curates 'Inside' for Koestler Trust

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Koestler Trust annual exhibition at the Southbank Centre, one of Britain’s most revered artists, Antony Gormley, has been invited to curate the 2017 edition. The free exhibition, entitled ‘Inside’ will run from Thursday 21 September – Wednesday 15 November 2017 in the Spirit Level of Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall. Works included in the exhibition will have been produced by detainees in the UK’s prisons, secure hospitals and immigration removal centres as well as by ex-offenders in the community.

The artworks selected for the exhibition come from over 7,000 pieces of fine art, design,writing and music, entered into this year’s Koestler Awards. Some of the artworks are forsale, with 25% of original artwork sales proceeds going to Victim Support, 25% to Koestler Trust and 50% to entrants. Throughout the exhibition there will be a pop-up shop and guided tours, both staffed by ex-offenders who have been trained and employed by the Koestler Trust.

Antony Gormley, curator, said:
“I want to celebrate this great resource: the imaginations of the 85,000 prisoners currently in UK prisons and those in secure establishments. Art is a place in which you can do what you like; it need not be for or about anyone else but the artist. In the words of one prisoner,‘in our minds we can always be free’. I want this work to say something to all of us outside about what it feels like to be a detainee, inside.”

The London Area of The Arts Society has for many years contributed prizes for Young Offenders, to encourage skill development. Visitors to the exhibition will be amazed at the high standard of work, and are able to fill in feedback cards to further encourage the artists.

For further details: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/inside-art-offenders-secure-patients-and-detainees