Newhaven celebrates award-winning artwork

The chief executive of the Koestler Trust paid a special visit to service users at Newhaven recently where he presented them with certificates for their award-winning artwork.

The Koestler Trust awards, exhibits and sells artworks by offenders, detainees and secure patients. Each year, they run the Koestler Awards programme which offers an opportunity for entrants to win a prize for their creative work as well as having it seen by others and showcased at an annual arts exhibition.

The Koestler Awards receive around 7,000 competition entries each year, and two service users at Newhaven were lucky enough to be selected for their creative work. One service user, Paul, received the Silver Award for his Carlos the Cat work, which was exhibited in London – and bought by a member of the public.

Service users worked alongside Paul Dews art and music practitioner to create their artwork. Paul explained, “The awards are a great way of inspiring creativity, providing a sense of purpose and boosting self esteem.

“It’s fantastic to see that two of our service users have been recognised for their artwork – they were beaming when they found out they’d won an award.”

For more information on the use of creative approaches to healthcare within the Trust, visit our website at www.creativemindsuk.com