LSE CBG 1.05,
Free
Join us to discuss the societal impact of art through the platform Koestler Arts offers to prisoners and ex-convicts to experience liberation. Our speaker, Fiona Curran, holds a postgraduate diploma in Contemporary Art History from Goldsmiths and a BA in Fine and Studio Arts from Edinburgh College of Art. She is a senior arts leader with nearly two decades’ experience leading projects to foster cultural exchange through the arts (Japan Foundation, Asia House) and socially engaged arts charities, specialising in exhibitions, awards programmes and supporting underrepresented artists. Koestler Arts is the UK’s oldest and most renowed prison arts charity. They aim to inspire prisoners and people with experience of the criminal justice system to take part in the arts, (including fine art, design, music, poetry, film and performance), through their annual Koestler Awards programme, feedback on the work, exhibitions, sales, and mentoring. In 2024, their exhibition 'No Comment' at Southbank Gallery was co-curated by John Costi and Jeremy Deller. Their programmes aim to ‘unlock the talent inside’ and foster dialogue between the public and the people within the criminal justice system.