Art in Prisons

Ikon’s Art in Prisons programme places artist residencies in four prisons: HMP Grendon, HMP Spring Hill and HMP Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, and HMP Birmingham. Each residency shares the core belief that art practice can be a force for good in carceral settings.

The residencies are based on the same concept: the prison art school. Developed at HMP Grendon, the programme involves prisoners taking part in weekly workshops led by an Artist in Residence, during which they learn and develop new creative and technical skills. There is no formal curriculum for participation, but rather an ethos of learning. Each residency results in new artwork for display at the prison and Ikon Gallery.

At HMP Grendon, participants have worked with a diverse group of visiting artists to consider climate change, disability, masculinity, psychology and philosophy. Participants have explored technical processes including dry-point etching, screen printing, pin-hole photography, painting and jesmonite casting.

HMP Grendon’s art studio is the only curated gallery inside a prison in the UK. It hosts a programme of exhibitions including work by prisoner artists, Artists in Residence and presentations from Ikon’s exhibition programme. Displaying and viewing artwork can be a profound experience for people who live in prisons as it allows the representation of subjects and topics rarely seen in carceral settings.

Ikon’s artist residencies are accompanied by a public programme of research symposia and events at Ikon Gallery, allowing a platform for public discourse on the role of art in criminal justice. A number of related publications are available from Ikon Shop.

If you would like to get in touch about Ikon’s work in prisons please contact James Latunji-Cockbill, Producer – Art in Prisons, j.latunji-cockbill@ikon-gallery.org

For press enquiries please contact press@ikon-gallery.org

Artists: Edmund Clark, Dag Erik Elgin, James Lomax and Zubair

Curators: Kristine Jærn Pilgaard, Nick London and James Latunji-Cockbill

Funded by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust, KORO – Public Art Norway and the Royal Norwegian Embassy (2026)

In 2026 Ikon has partnered with Agder Kunstakademi on a collaborative exchange programme between artists and curators working and residing in prisons in Norway and the UK. The programme comprises a series of exhibitions, workshops, talks and symposia exploring the role of prison art school pedagogy in an international context.

To launch the programme Ikon presented TV Pain (2022-23), an installation by Zubair, a former student of Agder Kunstakademi (2020-23) at Agder Prison, Froland, Norway. Zubair repurposes flat-screen monitors taken from prison cells, which are frequently smashed by inmates in moments of frustration.

Dag Erik Elgin is Artist in Residence at HMP Grendon in August, in collaboration with Kristine Jærn Pilgaard. Together they will facilitate a week-long workshop, entitled Space of Immediate Surroundings, culminating in the co-creation of an encyclopaedia made with prisoners.

James Lomax will be Artist in Residence at Agder Prison in September, in collaboration with James Latunji-Cockbill, Ikon’s Producer of Art in Prisons and Health. Photographer Edmund Clark will visit Agder Prison, contributing to the programme through documentation and early research.

For more details, see the press release here. 

Artist in Residence: Niki Gandy
Funded by Birmingham City Council, the W.A. Cadbury Charitable Trust and the 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust (2025-26)

HMP Birmingham is a Category B prison currently holding 1000 prisoners, many of whom are either on remand or unsentenced.

Ikon has established an art studio inside the prison which is used for weekly workshops. Research underpins the residency, aiming to gauge the impact of art practice on prisoners’ health and wellbeing. Over the course of the two-year project Regan McDonald, Ikon’s Public Health Research Officer, will organise creative evaluation sessions and undertake surveys with participants, artists and prison staff.

Niki Gandy is an interdisciplinary artist and doctoral researcher working with film, photography and ambient light. At HMP Birmingham, Gandy’s research considers the effects of her chosen medium (light) on prisoners’ health, principally, that of vitamin D deficiency and circadian rhythm disruption.