Curated by Ai Weiwei
27 October – 18 December 2022
Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre
Our fifteenth Annual UK Exhibition in partnership with the Southbank Centre was curated by Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist, Ai Weiwei. 2022 marked the 60th anniversary of the Koestler Awards and Ai Weiwei wanted this landmark exhibition to be ‘the most ambitious yet’.
The vision for this exhibition was inspired by Weiwei’s visit to the Koestler Arts building, which, each year, houses over 6,000 pieces of artwork entered into the Koestler Awards. Taken aback by the quantity of artworks and the range of categories on display, Weiwei’s concept evolved; to be as inclusive as possible and to let the artwork show how humanity responds when put in extreme circumstances.
The exhibition space was transformed. Ai Weiwei’s design comprised fifteen cell spaces that were based on the size of a typical cell in a UK prison, which roughly measures 1.8m by 3m. Each cell contained a multitude of work, with the smallest containing 78 and the largest containing 131. Once through the corridor of cells, visitors had the chance to listen to music and watch animation and films before entering the final section of the exhibition, a room filled with sculptures and poetry.
If you’d like to read more about Ai Weiwei’s curation, you can pick up a copy of our 60th anniversary publication, Unlocking the Talent Inside: Koestler Arts at 60, from our online shop.
Watch
Watch animations that were displayed on screens in the exhibition through the YouTube playlist.
Watch hereOnline Gallery
View photos from the exhibition in the gallery below.
Poetry Wall
Poetry Wall
Sculptures
Entrance to Exhibition
Entrance to Exhibition
Corridor of cells
Cell O
Cell O
Cell N
Cell N
Cell M
Cell M
Cell L
Cell L
Cell L
Cell K
Cell K
Cell K
Cell J
Cell J
Cell H
Cell H
Cell G
Cell I
Cell I
Cell G
Cell F
Cell F
Cell E
Cell E
Cell D
Cell D
Cell C
Cell C
Cell B
Cell B
Cell A
Cell A
Audio/Animation
