Freedom is a State of Mind, HM Prison Peterborough, sculpture, 2026

FOR the first time, the major annual Koestler Arts show features a selection made by members of the Parental Imprisonment Collective – PIC – a group of young adults with experience of a parent in prison during childhood.

Rock, Paper, Scissors* includes some 200 of the 7,500-plus artworks submitted to the Koestler Awards, the country’s longest-running prize programme for art made in prisons, secure hospitals, young offender institutions, and by people on probation.

The collective said: “We’ve come together to curate an exhibition that charts a journey of life from childhood onwards, and the different paths a life can take. We hope we’ve interpreted the work in a way the artists themselves would recognise. When people go through the exhibition, we want them to think differently about what it means to grow up with a parent in prison. We also want visitors to remember that everybody in prison was once a child too. They are not just the sum of their sentence.” The challenge is to consider the complex human stories behind the art.

PIC are supported by the Prison Advice and Care Trust, a charity working with children and families affected by parental imprisonment.

And, as before, the free-to-enter show has stories of “creativity, imagination, humour, vulnerability and hope” with a rich variety of original visual art, poetry, prose, and more, on offer.

For further details and events see: www.koestlerarts.org.uk

*Rock, Paper, Scissors is at The Undercroft, Southbank Centre, SE1 8XX, until November 29.