Month by Month: Two art shows, 750 miles apart

From the Scottish Highlands to the Channel Islands, paintings and sculptures created in jail cells go on display to the public. Such exhibitions highlight the power of art to transform lives, and help to change the way prisoners are seen.

Two art shows at opposite ends of the British Isles. First, under the descriptive name ‘Made Visible’, a prison art exhibition featured work from HMP Inverness, HMP Castle Huntly and HMP Low Moss. Together they created an impressive display in the great Dornoch Cathedral, in the Scottish Highlands. It is the second time the cathedral has hosted the event, which was held from July into August and organised by the Dornoch-based social enterprise Pictora.

This month, and 750 miles south, States of Jersey Prison, La Moye will come together with ArtHouse Jersey at Capital House to present ‘Inside Out 18’. It is the third time the annual exhibition is being staged at this venue. Residents at La Moye are producing between 100 and 150 artworks for the exhibition, ranging from paintings and drawings to poetry, ceramics and woodwork.

From Scotland, the Director of Pictora, Robert Morrall, explained to me how their rather unusual programme works. As a social enterprise organization, they do not run art courses in prison. Their aims are to give the work a wider audience and, most importantly, boost the morale of the artists. With this in mind, all prisoners who submit work for the exhibition are given a set of greeting cards with one of their images on the front. They also get a Certificate of Participation and a set of photos of their artwork. Both the greeting cards and the photos can, of course, be sent to family and friends. The aim, as Robert tells me, is to foster “a can-do, rather than a can’t-do approach to life”. He adds: “The other side of the coin is to challenge the public’s perception of prisoners.”

Continuing with this theme, every work submitted for Made Visible (and there were 109 this year) is put into the exhibition. In a break with tradition, images are displayed rather than the original art, which remains with the men in prison. One of their non-pictorial entries this year was a match-stick fish-tank.  Robert emphasised that using the Cathedral as location for the artwork brings international tourists, drawn by a famous local golf course, to see the men’s work. As an aside, he told me two interesting facts: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, married one of his wives here, and Madonna’s daughter was christened here. This year Kim Tulloch, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Sutherland, opened the exhibition at the cathedral while the Rev Carol Anne Porter, Minister of the Dornoch Firth Church of Scotland, welcomed guests. Better off without Elon Musk, perhaps.

Down in the Channel Islands, this month’s exhibition will open to the public on 11 September. Among those submitting entries is Inside Time’s cartoonist Kelly, a prisoner at La Moye. He said: “This year I have entered three paintings, three drawings and a cartoon wooden sculpture into the Inside Out exhibition. This is a great opportunity for prisoners to showcase their artwork in a public gallery and change negative perceptions in the local media. Art will always eclipse tabloid ink.”

Lucy Blackmore, who has taught art at La Moye for 19 years, said: “Over the years, I have seen first-hand the transformative impact that creativity can have. Art gives people the opportunity to reflect, communicate and take pride in accomplishing something positive. The exhibition allows participants to be recognised for their abilities and achievements, rather than being defined solely by their circumstances.”

La Moye’s Governor, Paul Yates, told me: “The talent, effort and dedication displayed in this exhibition are remarkable. Projects such as Inside Out provide individuals with an opportunity to develop confidence, self-discipline and a sense of achievement, all of which are important foundations for successful rehabilitation. The exhibition also helps the wider community see the person behind the offence and recognise the positive progress that can be made when people are given constructive opportunities to learn, grow and change. I fully support the work of Lucy and our education team in creating opportunities that encourage personal development, responsibility and hope for the future.”

Both these 2026 exhibitions, and all those around the prison estate, are recognition of the difference that art can make to the lives of men shut out from ordinary life and looking for ways to go forward to a better future. Art is no easy option. It needs concentration, patience and imagination. Just as important is the ability to recognise and accept when something’s not working and learn from it. A good teacher can make all the difference, even if much of the actual art, these days is created inside a cell. Fellow artists often help, encouraging determination with understanding. Sharing is part of the process.

Soon it will be time for the great Koestler Arts exhibition at London’s Southbank Centre, a national showcase. Last year it displayed works chosen from 7,500 entries sent from 131 prisons around the UK. Money can be won, but pride in work well done is always foremost. In that exhibition it is always interesting how many artists will forego a sale to hang onto their work, or perhaps to give it to family or friends. The Dornoch and Jersey exhibitions, so far apart geographically, show how art spreads across our country, bringing the kind of hope that arises out of achievement and describing the contributors as ‘artists’ not ‘prisoners’. 

At the Dornoch Cathedral launch event, an artist on day release with staff from HMP Castle Huntly, Scotland’s only open prison, spoke about the value of art for individuals in prison. “To me, art is more than just putting pen or pencil to paper,” he said. “It’s more than shading or colour, it is expression in the purest of forms and it is creating something from nothing. It is taking the time to explore your thoughts and feelings and having the freedom to display these in the way most suited to you. Quite simply, art is good for the soul and can be a therapy in itself. I like to think of it as escaping … without actually escaping!”

Let the great Spanish painter Pablo Picasso have the last words: “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”