Prodigal Arts

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Prodigal Arts is a registered charity that helps people in prison and post-release 'unlock' their creative potential.

Based in Bristol, we seek to nurture and develop artists' creativity through meaningful art related activity.

12/10/2026

Building connections, creating opportunities 🌱

Over the years, Prodigal Arts has been invited to create commissioned artwork and facilitate creative projects for a range of important organisations, including the Probation Service, the Centre for Criminology at Oxford and the Parole Board.

We also collaborate with other charities and organisations to help our artists share their work with wider audiences. From exhibiting at Changing Futures in 2025 to our much-loved annual Christmas card series, created by Andrew and funded by SixtyOne, these partnerships open up new opportunities for our artists.

Our latest collaboration is The Greetings Card Series, featuring artwork created by artists at HMP Eastwood Park, HMP Bristol and HMP Leyhill, with funding from The Arts Society.

Every partnership helps our artists' work reach new people, giving their creativity greater visibility and the opportunity to be enjoyed and purchased. Just as importantly, these opportunities help build confidence, self-worth and a sense of achievement.

They also help Prodigal Arts continue to grow, reach more people and create new opportunities through art.

Here's to the partnerships that help creativity grow!

Featured Images:
Commission for Oxford Criminology by PS
Beanstalk for Sixty One by Andrew
Reclaiming Christmas for Sixty One by Andrew
'Honoured' A commission for a Queens council Judge, by Andrew
Greetings cards created in our various art workshop settings, in partnership with The Arts Society Bristol

28/09/2026

🌷Community work🌿
As well as our work in prisons, we run creative workshops in the community, including sessions with women experiencing difficult or vulnerable circumstances.

Our sessions at the brilliant Nelson Trust in Bristol enable us to facilitate an afternoon of calm making and mindful creativity.

Each session is different. Sometimes people want to chat, sometimes they want to work quietly – but the important part is the space to create, work through things, commune with others and feel a sense of pride at having created something beautiful or having learned a new skill.

All featured images are artworks created at our Nelson Trust sessions.

The Nelson Trust The Island

24/09/2026

👀Featured artist: Andrew (COTO)

Andrew has been making art with Prodigal Arts for many years and is by far our most prolific artist. His realistic and delicate drawing style yet clever and humorous take on subjects is a captivating combination and his work is highly popular.

Andrew has worked with prodigal Arts since attending classes in HMP Leyhill and has continued on with us through our COTO (Creatives on the Out) program, wholeheartedly engaging with art projects and producing high quality work.

Come and see Andrews exciting new work at our upcoming 10 year anniversary exhibition, Where Creativity Grows: A Decade that Shows. 22-25th October at the Island, Bristol.

Featured images, all by Andrew:

Headcase: Behind the portrait
A Brush with nature
Temper, temper
The Bristol Bus Boycott
Court Red Handed
The Island: No Escape

22/09/2026

Join us on Thursday October 22nd for the opening night of our exhibition ‘Where Creativity Grows: A Decade that Shows’.
We will be celebrating 10 years of Prodigal Arts and we have so much new and beautiful artwork to show you!
Join us 7-9pm at The Island, Bristol and together lets celebrate a decade of Prodigal Arts; A decade of creating spaces for people to make art, learn new skills, develop their confidence and grow.

21/09/2026

🙌One of the things we're particularly proud of is being able to stay connected with artists after they leave prison.

Through our post -release program, Creatives on the Out, artists can continue developing their creative work and remain part of the Prodigal Arts community.

Leaving prison can involve a huge amount of change, so having a focus and a level of support can be important and life changing.

We'll be sharing some more of the NEW work made by our COTO’s as part of our 10-year celebration exhibit in the coming weeks!

Featured images🖼:
Hungry leopard by Jacob
Girl with the plastic earring by Pete
Full of fire by Jacqui
Breath of Life by Davey
Zebra by Andrew
Totterdown, Totter up by Phil

08/09/2026

🌳Growth and Change, for us and our artists.

As a charity we have seen some exciting growth over the last few years, going from working in one prison; HMP Leyhill, to starting our Creatives On The Out program, to expanding our work into other prisons; HMP Bristol and HMP Eastwood park and then expanding further into community workshops in conjunction with women’s charity Nelson Trust. All the while our network is expanding and our roster of Creatives On The Out is growing.
We are so grateful to all of our supporters who enable us to do the work we do. The power of time, space and creativity cannot be underestimated and we are very proud that we are able to provide this for so many who are experiencing tough times and challenging situations.

Come and celebrate our 10th birthday, our artists and their wonderful work with us at The Island, 22-25 October!

Featured images:
When shall we meet again by HM, HMP Leyhill
Pinewood - from the Winter Set by SM, HMP Leyhill
Malala by John, HMP Leyhill
Dia de los mu***os by AP, HMP Bristol
Horizons by SB, HMP Bristol
Abstract 5 by KK, HMP Bristol
Breath of life by Davey, COTO
Horse therapy by Jacqui, COTO
The Eye by Nicholas, COTO
Sunflower Cottage by PS, COTO
Rust never sleeps by Pete, COTO
Out of Africa by Andrew, COTO
Bristol - A cut above the rest by Andrew, COTO
Cyanotypes by the women at Nelson Trust
Workshop images from Nelson Trust sessions

04/09/2026

Ten years of Prodigal Arts.

Ten years of sitting around tables.

Ten years of paint, pencils, clay, ink and paper.

Ten years of people saying:

“I can't draw.”

“I don’t know why they sent me here”

“what can art do for me?”

And later:

“Look what I've made.”

“I feel good about myself”

“I’ve learned new skills”

This October, we celebrate what can happen when creativity is given somewhere to grow.

Image: The Tree by Ross, HMP Bristol

02/09/2026

The beginning at HMP Leyhill

Every journey begins somewhere.

For us, it began with a belief that people deserve access to creativity wherever they are in life.

A belief that art can offer more than just something to look at when it is finished.

The Prodigal Arts workshops at HMP Leyhill started our journey into creativity as rehabilitation, art making as confidence building.

Here are some historical images from some of our first workshop attendees.

Image 1: Jack - Bird and Dancer
Image 2: Ricardo - Sea Cliffs
Image 3: Jack - Abstract 2
Image 4: Davey - Strengths Finder
Image 5: Davey - The Straight and Narrow
Image 6: Stevie - Black Labrador

01/09/2026

Ten years ago, Prodigal Arts founder Ralph Mann began Prodigal Arts workshops within HMP Leyhill, holding a safe space for people to be creative, focus on something else and just make with no pressure and no expectation.
Not knowing exactly what would grow from it but knowing it was important.
The work was never only about finished pieces - it’s about making space for people to keep returning, trying and discovering different parts of themselves. In that process though, so many have found new talents or awakened old ones.

Featured images:
1: Leyhill Workshop circa 2016
2: Bristol Waterfront by Jonathan - in process
3: Dappled Light by John - in process

31/08/2026

Save the dates! 📅
WHERE CREATIVITY GROWS:
A DECADE THAT SHOWS
Where: The Island, Bristol
When: Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th October
🎂This year, Prodigal Arts turns 10.
For a decade, we have created spaces where people can come together, slow down and make.
When running our workshops with people in prison, people who have left prison and people experiencing vulnerability within the community, artwork is important. But it is not where the story begins.
The story often begins with a safe space. A table. Some materials. Time. Encouragement. And the possibility that perhaps, you can make something you didn't know you could.
Over time, creativity can grow into confidence, calm, connection and pride. A sense of purpose. A different way of seeing yourself.
This October, Where Creativity Grows: A Decade That Shows will celebrate ten years of the artists, workshops, relationships and creative spaces that have made Prodigal Arts what it is today.

We will be posting about our journey over the next few weeks and we hope you can join us to see the work our artists are making for this special celebration.

Featured image: Full of Fire by Jacqui

Address

Bristol

Website

http://www.prodigalarts.org/

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