Between Decorative Justice and Carceral Aesthetics: A Critical Comparative Analysis of Koestler Arts (UK) and Rehabilitation Through the Arts (US) within the Reform–Abolition Framework

Kehan Wang

doi:10.54691/rz8awq07

Authors

Kehan Wang Faculty of Arts & Humanities, King's College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/rz8awq07

Keywords:

Prison arts; decorative justice; carceral aesthetics; prison abolition; Koestler Arts; RTA; reform–abolition debate.

Abstract

In recent years, prison-based arts programmes have evolved into prominent cultural phenomena, yet their political implications remain deeply contested. Situated within the reform–abolition debate, this article offers a critical comparative analysis of two representative programmes: Koestler Arts in the United Kingdom and Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) in the United States. Drawing on a four-fold typology of prison arts developed from Cheliotis's work, his concept of "decorative justice," and Fleetwood's framework of "carceral aesthetics," the article examines the tensions among three registers of evaluation: participant benefit, institutional positioning, and political effect. Based on secondary scholarship, documentary analysis, and cultural criticism, the analysis reveals that while such programmes generate tangible benefits for incarcerated individuals, they simultaneously produce public-facing cultural products—exhibitions, films, and media coverage—that render mass incarceration aesthetically and affectively legible, and thereby potentially sustainable, within the public imagination. This dynamic may inadvertently reinforce the carceral system rather than advance the structural transformation demanded by abolitionist critique. The article proposes a tripartite evaluative framework to move beyond single-dimensional outcome measurement, offering new analytical pathways for research on prison arts.

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