Last October 25-28th, Central Saint Martins (CSM), the renowned London-based college for Arts and Design, showcased at Lethaby Gallery the work from two pilot courses in Printed Textiles and Fashion Design written for and delivered at HMP Isis, a young offenders institute in south-east London from November 2022 – May 2023.
Alongside designs generated in workshops inside the prison, the project called “The Unlocked Room” consisted also in presenting a series of collaborations between young men held at HMP Isis and students at Central Saint Martins.
Furthermore, a live empathy experiment was staged across five days for the duration of the exhibition. Cell structures were inhabited by cross-disciplinary and cross-level groups of students from Central Saint Martins to resonate around the sensitive question: How might we identify and nurture talent in places we don’t usually search it out?
More info on the exhibition can be found: here.