Insider Art: The Koestler Trust has its funding cut after 30 years

I’ve just found out that the The Koestler Trust, the UK’s best-known prison arts charity, has had its funding cut for 2009. Nowhere has reported this. (Well, not that I’ve seen). Why?

The cuts come after more than 30 years of funding and support, from the upper echelons of the judiciary, the chattering classes and the government. Sir Alan Moses (high court judge), Sir Roger Graef (film maker) and Lord Ramsbotham (ex prisons minister) are among the trust’s advisors, with Ramsbotham the Honorary president.

I don’t know the ins and outs of the government’s decision – I’ll try and find out – but the decision will no doubt sadden and infuriate those who have seen first-hand the calming and rehabilitative powers of the arts within prisons.

Apparently the KT no longer ‘meets the criteria’ for this type of funding. After 30 years? Perhaps it’s Jack Straw’s ‘public acceptability’ test again. Perhaps Straw should bear in mind that there are – shock horror – people inside prison who aren’t ‘evil’ or ‘without hope’, who profoundly benefit from the rehabilitation arts provide. Which means, ultimately, so do we.

Here are some examples of artwork produced by inmates. You know, to brighten all this text up a bit. And because they’re pretty good:

Award Winner 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

The artist writes:

“This is my reality on canvas. I spent 5 years sharing cells with other inmates – it’s horrible. I know what I did, and punishment is part of the process, but 23 hours a day locked up! What good is it achieving? Now I am lucky to have paint, brushes and easel in my cell. I thank the Koestler Trust for giving me a goal every year. Art will not just make a difference when I am released – it is the difference. Even my dad told me to “get a proper job” until he saw some of my paintings: now I have his full support!”

Award winner 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

The artist writes:

“Dean Stalham at the Koestler Trust asked me to finish this drawing for a play he wrote for the Union Theatre in London. My family saw the show and told me about it. The picture was projected onto the stage for a scene about chasing the dragon (taking drugs) underneath the escalator at Green Park tube station. So the picture shows the escalator as a dragon. Perhaps it is also about being de-humanised by addiction, or by prison, and crying out to be in a better place.”

Award winner 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

The artist writes:

“I wanted to show what I see on an everyday basis. Here are the different characters who serve our food, with a range of approaches to their job. You can be met with smiling faces, but this only makes you more suspicious of the food!”

Award winner 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

The artist writes:

“The plane parts all in different places represent the mess my life was once in. My partner and I were trying to get away, and the clock is past the hour because I was always too late. But the man sitting calmly at the departures desk shows that life isn’t such a calamity – it’s what we make of it.”

Award winner 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

The artist writes:

“This picture represents the long, dark tunnel which greets people facing a life sentence. At times it feels like there is no light at the end, hence the black centre. Being selected for this exhibition has given me a massive boost in self-confidence. People have always put me down, this has made me feel worthwhile.”

And some more:

Highly Commended 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

Lady with Green Hair – Aleksandar Bjelovuk, Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre, Bysshe Blake Award for Mixed Media (£30 prize) 2008

Zebra – David Dixon, HMP Lowdham Grange, Notts, Highly Commended for Oil/Acrylic

Highly Commended 2008. By kind permission: The Koestler Trust

 

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