ARTISTS ON THE INSIDE - EXHIBITION READY
Mobilong Prison - Murray Bridge and Cadell Training Centre, Riverland
June 2025
The 2025 Artists on the Inside – Exhibition Ready Workshop Series is a culturally grounded arts initiative supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in South Australian correctional facilities to develop new, exhibition-ready artworks. Delivered by Ku Arts, the program pairs emerging and early-career artists with respected First Nations artist-facilitators in a supportive and structured creative environment.
In 2025, the series featured two intensive workshops led by Cedric Varcoe (Ngarrindjeri, Ramindjeri, Boandik, and Narangga) at Mobilong Prison, and Patrick Ferguson (Yawarrawarrka, Pitjantjatjara, Adnyamathanha) at Cadell Training Centre. Each workshop was designed to foster cultural connection, storytelling, and healing through creative expression.
Participants explored culturally significant forms—painting shields and carving traditional items—while building technical skills and creative confidence. The workshops provided space for men to reflect, share language, express identity, and engage in meaningful storytelling through visual art. These works will be exhibited as part of the Artists on the Inside exhibition, amplifying First Nations voices and celebrating the strength and creativity that flourishes even in restricted environments.
Cadell Training Centre, Carving our Culture, Keeping it Strong workshop,
June 2025.
"Cadell Training Center was an absolute pleasure to facilitate it wasn’t just an amazing experience for the inmates it was for me as well, everyone was so excited and nervous about the opportunity and to create something. Some of the inmates had never carved anything before but were very happy to give it a go and soon found out just how hard it was and for the inmates that had done it before they were very happy to lend a helping hand. Talking to the inmates about their experiences whilst incarcerated they were very clear by saying that they would love to have this opportunity again but more as a permanent thing. I think that not just the Cadell Training Center but also other facilities would get a lot out of these workshops, a sense of pride that they have made and also something to either take home or send home to loved ones."
Patrick Ferguson, Yawarrawarrka, Pitjantjatjara and Adnyamathanha carver based in Adelaide.
Goanna Dreaming Shield by Mobilong Participant
Ku Arts acknowledges the support of our funding partners whose commitment enables our continued delivery of services and programs to benefit Aboriginal artists in South Australia.
The 2025 Artists on the Inside – Exhibition Ready Workshop Series has been made possible through the support of our funding partner, Government of South Australia, Department for Correctional Services.
Ku Arts and the Department for Correctional Services past programs:
