For some children, visiting a prison is associated with absence, unease and emotions that are difficult to put into words. This is the reality for around 4,000 children in Denmark who have a parent in prison, and who often live with feelings of shame, loneliness and secrecy.
Their situations differ, but what they share is a higher level of vulnerability than children in general. Many experience multiple school changes, bullying and broken family relationships, and often have fewer social and financial resources around them. At the same time, their situation is often surrounded by taboo, stigma and a sense of facing something alone that can be difficult to share with others. Here, a book can make a difference.
The book grew out of our art project in Sdr. Omme Prison, which we have been working on for three years. Along the way, we became increasingly interested in the visiting room and in the children who also come to the prison. We sensed a need for something that was not just art for the space, but something that could be given directly to the child and create a connection between the prison and life at home.
– Hesselholdt & Mejlvang
Under the Same Moon is an artistic colouring book with a story that can be read aloud, created specifically for children visiting a parent in prison. The idea is to give the child and the incarcerated parent something tangible to share during the visit — a common space for colouring, reading, reflection and conversation. The book is developed by the artist duo Hesselholdt & Mejlvang in collaboration with the Danish Prison and Probation Service, and with support from Roskilde Festival Group, it is now being printed and distributed to prisons across the country.
But its most important value does not lie in the book itself. It lies in the space it opens.
Children who read the book can hopefully see themselves reflected in the story and realise they are not alone in having an incarcerated parent. At the same time, the book can help strengthen the relationship between children and their parents through shared colouring and reading, and help initiate conversations about what it means to be a child of an incarcerated parent.
– Danish Prison and Probation Service
When a child and a parent have something concrete to share, the visit becomes less defined by difficult conversations and more by presence, activity and shared attention. The book becomes a shared third — something to gather around — that can bring calm to a situation otherwise marked by uncertainty.
One of the most interesting aspects of the project is how art here takes on a very concrete function. The book is not only intended as an activity, but as a tool to strengthen the relationship between the child and the incarcerated parent. When colours, stories and images create a shared focus, it becomes easier to be together without everything having to be carried by words.
It can be difficult to find the words when you sit together in a visiting room and only have an hour or two. But if you are holding a coloured pencil or reading the story together, it can open up a different form of connection. The activity makes it easier to be together, and the conversation can emerge more naturally.
– Hesselholdt & Mejlvang
This makes the visit less institutional and more human. At the same time, the book can reflect the child’s situation. By addressing the experience of having an incarcerated parent, it opens a space where children can recognise their own feelings and realise they are not alone.
This is where the project reveals the particular potential of art — not as decoration or experience, but as a way to create connection, safety and a more caring encounter in one of society’s most vulnerable settings.
For many children of incarcerated parents, absence is accompanied by shame, taboo and a feeling of being alone. Here, the artistic form offers something unique.
When experiences are reflected through images, colours and storytelling, it becomes possible to approach difficult emotions in a less confrontational way. The book provides a language that is not necessarily verbal, but still allows the child to stay in touch with their feelings and share them with an adult.
From the beginning, we knew that being a child of an incarcerated parent is often associated with a lot of shame. That’s why it has been important for us to create a universe where the child can see themselves and feel that they are not alone. The potential lies in the book opening conversations with the parent and, over time, perhaps also creating a language in school and within the child’s network around something that is often difficult to talk about.
– Hesselholdt & Mejlvang
This is also where the project extends beyond the visiting room. The book becomes a small link between the child and the incarcerated parent in the time between visits — a way to keep the relationship alive across distance, rules and everyday life.
With support from Roskilde Festival Group, the project is now being scaled to a national level. A total of 11,000 copies are being printed — corresponding to five years of use across all prisons and detention centres in Denmark. Staff responsible for children within the Prison and Probation Service will handle distribution, ensuring that the book becomes a fixed part of the framework children encounter when visiting a parent in prison.
This makes the project a strong example of how art can have real societal impact when it is embedded in places where relationships, care and prevention are crucial.
Here, art is not an added layer on top of reality, but a way of making it more human.
Hesselholdt & Mejlvang work with art that creates space for relationships, participation and new ways of being together. Their practice moves between installation, architecture and social processes, often focusing on how art can take on a concrete role in everyday life and within institutional settings.
Through their work, they explore how aesthetics, care and shared experiences can open new connections between people.
Alex Poulsen Arkitekter
Kirstine Mengel
Natascha Thiara Rydvald © SMK
