Unlocked

An arts engagement programme targeting adults in custody, all of whom experience a range of mental health challenges. Over a period of several months, Soft Touch Arts arts workers worked with groups of prisoners and offenders to facilitate various arts projects with a view to exhibiting their work to the general public. Participants worked on a broad range of themes and in different media, while creating artworks that draw attention away from the usual visual surroundings of the prison environment and create a more peaceful and inspirational mood.
The Unlocked exhibition was a collection of works created by men serving sentences at HMP Leicester, HMP Stocken, and the now-closed HMP Glen Parva, as well as those who have completed their sentences and returned to their communities. The results were on display at Leicester Museum and at Soft Touch Arts.