Artwork created by patients in mental health services have been recognised in a national arts competition that champions the creativity of ex-offenders.
Patients from Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW)’s Bamburgh Clinic have received seven awards across seven different categories in the annual Koestler Awards, which celebrates all forms of art created by ex-offenders, secure patients and detainees.
The awards aim to challenge negative stereotypes and help people lead more positive lives by motivating them to participate and achieve in the arts.
Bamburgh Clinic also received a platinum award, the top accolade handed out by judges. This award went to a patient for his craft work which was part of a collaborative project with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.
Helen Goudie, Clinical Manager at Bamburgh Clinic at CNTW, said: “The patient group have done really well again this year to achieve so many awards across such a broad spectrum of categories. It’s a real reflection of the great talent and diverse range of creative interests that we have at the Bamburgh Clinic.
“It’s wonderful for our patients to receive national recognition for the work they have done.”
Judged by some of the leading lights in British contemporary art, the awards received over 6,500 entries in over 50 art forms from over 30 prisons and other establishments, inspiring offenders to take part in arts, raise aspirations and transform lives.
The exhibitions attract 50,000 visitors at venues across the country annually, showing the public the talent and potential of offenders in secure settings. The Koestler Trust is the UK’s leading prison arts charity, which has been awarding, exhibiting and selling artworks by offenders, detainees and secure patients for 54 years.
Bamburgh Clinic is an award-winning acute facility for men who have a mental health disorder and who have come into contact with the Criminal Justice System. It is part of Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust, a provider of mental health and disability services.