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Unlock the talent inside

Since 1962 the Koestler Awards have played a unique, national role in motivating prisoners, secure hospital patients and immigration detainees to take part in the arts. The awards are simple and powerful – we reward achievement, build self-confidence and broaden horizons for some of society’s most disadvantaged and marginalised people.

Our work harnesses the uniquely transformative power of the arts to help individuals learn the skills and gain the confidence to live creative, positive and productive lives. Each year we receive more than 7,000 entries from over 3,500 entrants across the UK in 52 categories. More than 2,000 Awards are granted by over 100 esteemed judges, and each year culminates in a curated exhibition at Southbank Centre which showcases the incredible power of the arts to transform lives.

  • Our Supporters

Spring, HM Prison Isle of Wight (Pankhurst), Bronze Award for Painting, 2019
Koestler Arts > Our Supporters

Our Supporters

Thank you to all of our supporters

To achieve our goals we rely on the generosity of our supporters and donors, and we are enormously grateful for all gifts.

For two generations we have been supporting prisoners, secure patients and immigration detainees to transform their lives through art, and 9 out of 10 of the Koestler Awards are funded thanks to voluntary donations from businesses, trusts and foundations, individuals and gifts in wills.

Thank you to all the individuals and organisations who support our work. Your help allows us to reach and motivate some of society’s most marginalised individuals, providing focus and a chance to celebrate positive achievements.

If you are interested in our work and the role of the arts in supporting the prisoners’ rehabilitative journeys, email the Development Team at support-us@koestlerarts.org.uk or give us a call on 020 8740 0333 to discover more about how you can join our family of supporters.

  • Major Supporters
    • Arts Council England
    • HMPPS
    • Paul Hamlyn Foundation
    • The Monument Trust
  • Trusts and Foundations
    • 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust
    • A M G & G Wyburd Trust
    • AB Charitable Trust
    • Alchemy Foundation
    • Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust
    • Barrow Cadbury Trust
    • C B and H H Taylor 1984 Trust
    • CD Stockwell Charitable Trust
    • City and Metropolitan Welfare Charity
    • Colston Educational Trust
    • D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust
    • Ericson Trust
    • Evan Cornish Foundation
    • Fitton Trust
    • Fowler Smith and Jones Trust
    • Gilander Foundation
    • Hanley Trust
    • Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation
    • Henry Smith Charity
    • Hochhauser Foundation
    • Honourable M L Astor’s 1969 Charity
    • Jessie Spencer Trust
    • John Murray Charitable Trust
    • John S. Cohen Foundation
    • Kent Community Foundation
    • Lady Hind Trust
    • Leach Fourteenth Trust
    • Leigh Trust
    • Marsh Christian Trust
    • Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust
    • Mila Charitable Organisation
    • Millward Charitable Trust
    • Monday Charitable Trust
    • Smith Charitable Settlement
    • Oakdale Trust
    • Odin Charitable Trust
    • Ofenheim Charitable Trust
    • P&C Hickinbotham Charitable Trust
    • Pennycress Trust
    • Percy Hedley 1990 Charitable Trust
    • Pitt-Rivers Charitable Trust
    • Robert Gavron Charitable Trust
    • Roger Vere Foundation
    • Sheriff’s & Recorder’s Fund
    • Sir James Roll Charitable Trust
    • Sir Charles Jessel Trust
    • Stella Symonds Charitable Trust
    • Taurus Foundation
    • Tom Stacey Charity
    • S Eliot Foundation
    • The Alchemy Foundation
    • The Hiscox Foundation
    • The Michael Marsh Charitable Trust
    • The Stoney Bridge Trust
    • The Walter Guinness Charitable Trust
    • The Wolton Charitable Trust
    • Tudor Trust
    • Valentine Charitable Trust
  • Organisations & Businesses
    • Argus Media
    • Arts Society Ayrshire
    • Arts Society Chiltern Hills
    • Arts Society Chiswick
    • Arts Society Greater London Area
    • Arts Society Speyside
    • Artists’ Collecting Society
    • Carmelite Chambers
    • CCLA
    • Doughty Street Chambers
    • Elysium
    • Hammersmith and Fulham Council
    • Lansbury Worthington Solicitors
    • National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance
    • Rotary Club of Dulwich and Peckham
    • Rotary Club of Northwick Park
    • School of Law, Royal Holloway University
    • Sodexo
    • Sotheby’s
    • Southbank Centre
    • The Supreme Court
    • The Worshipful Company of Weavers
    • Unilink Technology Services
    • United Agents
    • Whitstable Women’s Fellowship
    • 5RB
  • Scholarship Supporters
    • Barrow Cadbury Trust
    • Bromley Trust
    • Maingot Charitable Trust
    • Marie-Louise Von Motesiczky Charitable Trust
    • The Monument Trust
    • William Arthur Rudd Charitable Trust
  • Individual Supporters

    We are enormously grateful to our Friends, Award Namers and to all individuals who support our work with both regular and one-off donations. This support allows us to provide feedback, awards, mentoring and exhibition opportunities to thousands of prisoners, secure patients, detainees and those serving community sentences each year.

I am a committed supporter of the rehabilitative benefit of what Koestler provide and, through the excellent contact of the Du Cane Road team, I am kept in touch with what’s happening – not to mention being invited to all the wonderful exhibitions!
I can not recommend more strongly the value in becoming a friend of the trust and supporting the charity’s inspired work.

Pierce Brunt, Award Namer and former exhibition curator

Koestler Arts not only provides an art market but also brings hope and purpose for those who have lost their freedom and a way of those who are free to show their interest and concern.

Sally Zimmerman, long-term supporter