Exhibition
Freedom
27 Oct 2022 – 18 Dec 2022
Regular hours
- Monday
- 10:00 – 17:30
- Tuesday
- 10:00 – 17:30
- Wednesday
- 10:00 – 20:00
- Thursday
- 10:00 – 20:00
- Friday
- 10:00 – 20:00
- Saturday
- 10:00 – 20:00
- Sunday
- 10:00 – 20:00
Special hours
- 14-Nov-2022
- Closed
- 15-Nov-2022
- Closed
- 16-Nov-2022
- Closed
Free admission
Address
- Belvedere Road
- London
- SE1 8XX
- United Kingdom
Travel Information
- Tube: Waterloo / Embankment
Koestler Arts announces its annual UK Exhibition curated by Ai Weiwei
About
The volume of artworks on display in Freedom is an immense celebration of artwork coming
out of criminal justice settings. Ai Weiwei’s design comprises of fifteen cell spaces that are
based on the size of a typical cell in a UK prison, which roughly measures 1.8m by 3m. Each
cell contains a multitude of work, with the smallest containing 78 and the largest containing
131. Alongside paintings and drawings, visitors will see artworks from a variety of artforms
including calligraphy, graphic design, hairstyling and needlecraft. Visitors might also notice
unusual materials in place of traditional ones; prison bedsheets used as canvases, Marmite
used to create a portrait or sand used to create a landscape. Artwork will be purposefully
left unframed to further respect the original environment within which it was made. There
will be moments during the day when quotes from displayed artists will be played out loud
in several cells. These quotes are read by individuals currently involved in Koestler Arts’
Mentorship Scheme where artists who are now in the community are paired with a mentor
to help develop their practice. These intermittent recordings aim to reflect the sounds of
unplanned comings and goings that enter prison cells unexpectedly – through the pipes of a
shared plumbing system, through the bars on the window or through the slat in the door.
Unplanned sounds that consequentially link the people inside the cell with life and activity
outside it.
The design of the space also creates a natural flow of direction. Once through the corridor
of cells, visitors will have a chance to listen to music and watch animation and films before
entering the final section of the exhibition. This is a room filled with sculptures; from a
child-sized Pinocchio made from matchsticks, to a delicate dragonfly made from bread. In
addition, the walls will be covered in poems and writing that continues to support the
immersive environment Ai Weiwei’s design encourages. Poignant, humorous and escapist,
the mixture of topics and styles further showcases in a different artistic form how humanity
responds when put in extreme circumstances.
A group of ex-prisoner exhibition Hosts, employed by Koestler Arts, have been specially
recruited and trained to help visitors navigate the space. Additionally, the Hosts will lead
free exhibition tours throughout the week to give further insight into the artwork through
their own lived experience. Times and details about Host tours are available on the Koestler
Arts website.
Over half the artworks on display are for sale and will be available to purchase through the
website from 27th October. There will also be a Pop-Up Shop in the exhibition space where
items such as postcards of artworks on display and three Koestler’s anthologies New Poetry
from Prisons, will be available to buy.
27 October – 18 December 2022
Southbank Centre
Exhibition Space, Level 1, Royal Festival Hall