The Peel Street Park Projection Program is pleased to present The Torch’s annual Confined exhibition, every night after dark on the corner of Peel and Oxford Streets in Collingwood. 

The fifteenth annual Confined exhibition showcases over 400 artworks by First Nations artists who have experienced incarceration in Victoria. Confined provides a dedicated space for these First Nations people to share their stories, culture and lived experiences through the artworks they produce. The exhibition serves as a poignant reflection on the disproportionate representation of First Nations Australians in our criminal justice system, underscoring the urgent need for change.

As a child, I was taught that our spiritual Ancestors were always there to guide and protect us, but I often felt lost and alone. I now realise that I was searching for myself all along and we are never alone if connected to Country and our Ancestors. – The Torch artist C.Keller

At the centre of Confined 15, its beating heart, is Country. Countless times over the past two centuries, the connection of Australia’s First Peoples to our Country has been denied – through separations, removals, displacement, and the recent referendum – yet our connection to Country is unbreakable.

Inspired by Confined 15’s hero artwork Ceremony Grounds by Wadi Wadi/Wemba Wemba artist J.Kirby, the ochre colours of Country have been used throughout to remind us of home – a place where ceremony is held, where stories are told, where culture is practised, and where we can feel more like ourselves, more whole, than anywhere else on earth. These colours of Country remind us that ‘we are never alone if connected to Country and our Ancestors’.

Since 2011, The Torch has been supporting First Nations people in Victoria whose lives have been impacted by the criminal legal system to explore and share their identity and culture through art and define new pathways for themselves upon release from prison.

First Nations artists connected to The Torch while in prison are supported to increase their culture knowledge and share their journey through art. They can also earn income from art sales (with 100% of the artwork price going directly to the artist) licensing and commission opportunities.

Once they are released from prison, participants can connect with The Torch’s Post-Release program which supports their journey back into the community. In addition to art sales, support is tailored to each person based on their level of engagement and includes assistance to continue their cultural learning, foster new networks, and connect to arts industry opportunities.

View and purchase these extraordinary artworks online at thetorch.org.au or visit Glen Eira City Council Gallery in Caulfield from 3 May 2024 – 2 June 2024.

One hundred percent of the artwork price goes directly to the artist.