I began prison work in 2012 as part of a longstanding focus on justice and crime, fairness and victim-blaming, perpetrator and abuser dynamics, conviction and investigation, victims' legal and moral rights, abuse and punishment, women and men in prison, the law and its enforcement, rehabilitation and reform, restitution and reparation, criminal justice reform, advocacy and recovery and related topics.
Koestler runs a huge annual all-arts competition (art, writing, music, stage and screenplays, audio and radio, styling, design and more) for people in prison, Young Offender Institutes, detention and other secure settings. The 2026 deadline just passed for competition entries, which are sent to us via these institutions, but we are always delighted when people support us through donations or through signing up to learn more. And if you want to make it more formal and work with us, check out our vacancies here.
The other part of our work is raising awareness of the creativity, talent and engagement that can be found among women and men in these settings. And we run a really transformative and unique mentoring scheme to encourage that talent.
Every autumn/winter period Southbank Centre mounts a popular public exhibition of the Koestler Awards' visual art. Past curators have included Ai Weiwei, Sarah Lucas, Antony Gormley, Jeremy Deller, Speech Debelle, Bob and Roberta Smith, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Grayson Perry. We also tour the art and do spoken word events and showcases throughout the year, nationally.
Every other year we publish a bestselling anthology which presents a selection of submitted poetry, which has been very kindly supported by the T S Eliot Foundation. We've brought out five anthologies, with forewords by Benjamin Zephaniah, Joelle Taylor, Inua Ellams and George the Poet. The next anthology will be out in 2027 - which is also Koestler's 65th birthday.
Please join us on this journey as we celebrate the power of creativity and work on increasing access to the arts for all.
Every autumn/winter period Southbank Centre mounts a popular public exhibition of the Koestler Awards' visual art. Past curators have included Ai Weiwei, Sarah Lucas, Antony Gormley, Jeremy Deller, Speech Debelle, Bob and Roberta Smith, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Grayson Perry. We also tour the art and do spoken word events and showcases throughout the year, nationally.
Every other year we publish a bestselling anthology which presents a selection of submitted poetry, which has been very kindly supported by the T S Eliot Foundation. We've brought out five anthologies, with forewords by Benjamin Zephaniah, Joelle Taylor, Inua Ellams and George the Poet. The next anthology will be out in 2027 - which is also Koestler's 65th birthday.
Please join us on this journey as we celebrate the power of creativity and work on increasing access to the arts for all.
- CONTACT ME: I can be emailed at bidisha.contact@gmail.com for work purposes only. I never work for free.
- DISCLAIMER: Opinions and assertions made in my writing, broadcasting and commentary do not represent Koestler Arts.
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