I’m Still Here

Curated by the family members of people in prison

19 September – 4 November 2018
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre

What’s it like having a loved one in prison?

Our I’m Still Here exhibition was our 11th annual UK exhibition produced in partnership with Southbank Centre, and featured artwork entered into the 2018 Koestler Awards for arts in criminal justice. Curated by families supporting someone inside, each family selected artworks that illustrated their experiences, giving a unique and very personal edge to the show, which explored what it is like to have a loved one in prison. Their exhibition featured a diverse range of art, writing and music created by prisoners, secure patients and detainees, as well as people on community sentences, across the UK.

As part of the curation process, the families were asked to choose an object which best represented their experience of having a loved one in prison. Their responses were overwhelmingly positive and focussed on the idea of communication, rather than a lack of. For example, one of the objects chosen was a telephone, and the importance of this as a life-line between a mother and her son. Another object chosen was a hand-written speech written by a son in prison and sent to his nephew to read out at his mother’s wedding, which he was unable to attend due to being inside. The idea of art as a tool for communicating and rebuilding relationships is prevalent in this exhibition, echoing the very concept behind Koestler Arts’ work.

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Watch highlights from the exhibition on our YouTube

Watch here