| Dean Stalham
Dean Stalham is a writer and artist who has been to jail twice, first in 1994 for two years and then again in 2004 for three and a half years.It was during this second spell 'inside' that Dean developed an interest in the arts. He saw a play and was encouraged to write one himself. He was urged to enter it into the Koestler Awards - it won and was performed at HMP Wandsworth in front of over 200 people, inmates and staff alike.
This was all the encouragement Dean needed to know that he would never again return to his life of crime.The year after winning Koestler's Writing for Stage Award, Dean entered for the Mixed Media Award. The entry was was called Sporadicity (illustrated here). It received a Highly Commended Award and was the catalyst that led Dean to the Koestler Arts Centre. After his release from HMP Ford, he phoned asking to come and see his work. He spoke to Koestler chief executive Tim Robertson, who invited him into the centre and asked if the picture could be included in an exhibition for the centenary of the Probation Service. Dean readily agreed, and went on to become a full-time Arts Worker in the Koestler Trust team for the next 3 years.
During this time, Dean produced visual artworks which were exhibited at a number of venues, including the Chelsea Flower Show and the Globe Gallery in Weybridge, Surrey. He also wrote a number of plays which have been professionally produced:
- Sporadicity (after the painting) at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington in May 2007,
- Senti-mental at the Union Theatre in Southwark in Feburary 2008,
- Take It Or Leave It in the Camden Fringe Festival in August 2008.
Dean also arranged the Union Theatre's staging of three 2008 Koestler Award winners for play-writing.
Click here to see a video interview with Dean.
In 2009, Dean left the Koestler Trust to pursue his work as an artist, writer, speaker and freelance arts producer. For enquries about his work, please contact Dean's email.
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