Koestler Arts: Rock, Paper, Scissors

The Koestler Awards is an annual programme that supports people living within the UK’s criminal justice system to change their lives through the arts.

This year’s free Koestler Arts exhibition is hosted once again at the Southbank Centre. The artworks on display in this free exhibition were entered into the 2026 Koestler Awards, an arts competition for work made in criminal justice settings.

Curating the exhibition this year is the Parental Imprisonment Collective (PIC), who supported by Young Ambassadors from Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT), have selected around 200 artworks from over 7,500 entries to go on display in South Bank.

The five young curators drew on their own experiences when putting the show together, reflecting on themes of childhood, family, decisions and chance. Speaking about the vision behind this year's exhibition, the young curators explain that;

"We want people going through the exhibition to think differently about what it means to grow up with a parent in prison. We want visitors to remember that everybody in prison was once a child too, and they are not just the sum of their sentence... People’s lives are complicated. We hope this exhibition reflects that complexity not as something messy, but as something beautiful."

Where to find the Koestler Arts exhibition at Southbank Centre

The free exhibition is presented in the Queen Elizabeth Hall's Undercroft exhibition space. The entrance is located behind the Southbank Skate Park.