Patrons Scheme FAQ
-
Our Patrons’ generosity impacts our participants in secure settings directly, through their chosen ‘named’ Award, enabling us to send certificates and motivational feedback to award-winners, and helping us to provide more opportunities for entrants to financially benefit, through cash prizes ranging from £20 to £100. For people who earn around £15 per week on average in prison, these monetary prizes can make a huge difference to their ability to pay for the things they need, or to save up ahead of release.
Collectively, our Patrons support other strands of our work such as prison visits, family engagement, commissions, regional exhibition opportunities, and more, all linked and critical to the success of the Koestler Awards each year. Taking part and winning a Koestler Award can provide our entrants with a boost in self-esteem, a sense of achievement, and improved mental wellbeing, all important factors in addressing barriers to learning, and stimulating positive engagement in secure settings and upon release.
Patrons will have the opportunity to sign up to receive e-updates from us four times a year, outlining in depth what their support has enabled us to achieve that quarter.
-
All Patrons will be invited to sign up to our quarterly Friends e-newsletter list, which will look in depth at what their support has enabled us to achieve, as well as sharing behind the scenes information about our upcoming projects, volunteer opportunities throughout the year, and invites to exhibitions and events.
In September-October, all Patrons will be emailed our digital Award catalogue so they can see which piece of work was awarded their ‘Named Award’. In addition, Young Promise Patrons & Creative Genius Patrons will receive a bespoke digital Award certificate with more information about their winning piece, and artist comments if available.
-
The Koestler Awards are the only UK-wide art prize for people in the criminal justice system.
Our Patrons have the opportunity to choose the title of an Award in their preferred artform. Supporting our work in this way establishes a special and inspirational link with our entrants, signalling that people ‘outside’ are supportive of their rehabiliation. When signing up, Patrons are asked to provide the title of an Award from one of the artforms below:
-Painting/Drawing
-Sculpture/Ceramics
-Craft/Design
-Writing/Poetry
-Audio/FilmEvery summer we invite over 100 expert judges from across the art and cultural landscape to join us to pick award winners in each of the 52 categories. Once the judges have chosen the winners, the Koestler team match all the Awards based on our Patrons’ preferences.
To see examples of past award-winners, check out our Artform Galleries
-
Photos of all Award-winning pieces supported by Patrons will feature in our digital Awards catalogue, which will be emailed to all Patrons and made available to download from our website in the autumn. We invite all Patrons to write encouraging feedback to the winners of their ‘named’ Award piece, which we send directly to the entrant.
Young Promise Patrons and Creative Genius Patrons will also receive an additional ‘e-certificate’ with more photos and details about the artwork, and artist comments if available.
Some pieces may separately be picked by curators to feature in one of our exhibitions. If this is the case, we will be in touch to let you know where you can see it on display.
-
We acknowledge our Patrons by name on our supporters’ list in our digital Patrons catalogue, unless they choose to remain anonymous.
-
The [Your Award Title] Award
Our existing Patron Award titles vary, from uplifting phrases, to inspirational famous people, to the names of pets! We recommend choosing something meaningful to you, or that might inspire the award-winner.
The Award title will be included in the above format on the certificate that goes to the entrant in prison, in the artwork caption if the piece is selected for exhibition, and in our digital Awards catalogue available to download from our website, so please do consider this when choosing your title.
-
Yes, you can update, modify, or cancel your patronage at any time by contacting us directly at support-us@koestlerarts.org.uk. We understand that circumstances may change, and we are committed to accommodating your preferences and ensuring a positive experience.
-
If you support an existing Award, or have supported in the past and want to learn more about our new Patrons scheme, please get in touch support-us@koestlerarts.org.uk
