Journey into Light has now begun its tour around the Diocese of Chester following its successful launch at Chester Cathedral. Over 33 parishes have applied to host the exhibition over the next 12 months.
The exhibition is made up of over 40 individual pieces produced by prisoners at HMP Styal and HMP Thorncross, Cheshire. It is hoped thousands of people will have the opportunity to see the artwork at one of the host venues between now and October 2019.
The aim of the exhibition is to demonstrate to visitors that behind every prisoner’s conviction and sentence is a personal story of love, hope and loss.
Here's what some people said about the exhibition at the launch event at Chester Cathedral on the 8th October 2018.
The exhibition will travel to Stockport, Handforth, Bramhall, Macclesfield, Goostrey, and Northwich in 2018 and many more venues in 2019. For a full list of host venues take a look at the Journey into Light web page.
The launch of the exhibition was attended by 60 invited guests. Five hundred visitors saw the exhibition on its first day at Chester Cathedral.
Speaking at the launch, Theresa John, a former drug addict and convicted burglar who spent time in jail for her crimes, shared her experiences of prison life and the transformative power of art and faith. Listen to her moving testimony below.
The video below provides a flavour of the artwork you can expect to see during the exhibition's tour of the Diocese.