Night Owls and Abstractions: A Client's Artwork at the Southbank Centre

Volunteer George supported a Sussex Pathways client following his release from HMP Lewes in May 2025 through to September 2025. A keen and talented artist, the prison leaver recently had one of his artworks selected for a major national exhibition curated by poet and playwright Inua Ellams.

The piece, titled Yard View, was displayed as part of Koestler Arts: Night Owls and Abstractions, held at the Southbank Centre in London from Friday 31 October to Sunday 14 December 2025. The exhibition showcased the artistic range and talent of people with experience of the criminal justice system, highlighting creativity produced in secure settings.

From over 7,500 submissions, Ellams selected around 200 artworks. He noted how the exhibition challenged common perceptions of prison art, with humour and colour sitting alongside sadness and monochrome designs. A striking number of works featured owls, which Ellams described as symbolic of life behind bars — “looking out, thinking and searching for clarity that often only comes at night.”

Our Sussex Pathways client attended the exhibition with his son and was photographed beside Yard View, marking a powerful moment of pride, recognition and connection.

Koestler Arts has a long history of supporting creative work by people in custody, having been founded in the 1960s by writer Arthur Koestler to recognise and reward artistic achievement among those who are physically confined. Now operating under the name Koestler Arts, the charity continues to “unlock the talent inside” through exhibitions across the UK.