Bulletin

There is an endless list of benefits to having art in our lives - it’s inspirational, thought-provoking, and educational, plus a new exhibition called Multicolour proves that it is also extremely charitable. In addition to the exhibition, there will also be an auction fundraiser held, created by Migrate Art, so those affected by the world-wide refugee crisis can be better supported.

Previewing in a moving exhibition in London in March this year will be work created by some of the most esteemed names in contemporary art. A few of the confirmed artists include Anish Kapoor, Gary Hume, Mark Wallinger and The Connor Brothers; they are creating their artwork by using pencils and crayons recovered from the Calais Jungle refugee camp, which was once occupied by over 10,000 refugees before it was demolished in 2016. After the exhibition, the artwork will then be auctioned at Phillips in April, where the money raised will help fund the refugee crisis we are facing.

English artist, Rachel Whiteread, has commented: “The Migrate Art auction is a very creative approach enabling people to help with a desperate Refugee Crisis, a worldwide problem.”

There is no doubt that this exhibition and auction will be a huge success, as Migrate Art have raised almost £100,000 so far in the various other projects they have embarked on for this cause across three different continents.

Over the next couple of months, Shoreditch is playing host to ‘A Festival of New Masculinity’ which is aiming to celebrate men’s mental health, something that is not as widely spoken about as it perhaps should be. Aptly named ‘MENtal health’ this festival will consist of a selection of events taking place at popular east London venues, The Book Club and Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen.

A few of the standout features of ‘MENtal health’ include the live podcast hosted by Professor Green on 16th January, a self-care brunch where dads can come along and bring their kids and let’s not forget the exhibition of ‘Night of 1,000 Cocks’ which will aim to promote body positivity amongst men!

Lasting for three months, this festival is being hosted by ‘Super Culture,’ a Shoreditch-based arts and culture collective - Jenna Al-Ansari, event organiser at Super Culture has high hopes for this festival and says: ‘Our upcoming wellness Quarter will feature residents addressing the core issues of mental health and deconstructing toxic masculinity from within, hearing from men, women and non-binary people on the front line of changing this culture.’

In addition to encouraging such a positive movement, all ticket sales are going straight towards suicide prevention charity, CALM.

A different kind of design challenge has been at the forefront of our minds this month, in the form of the Mobility Unlimited Challenge. Over 80 entries to create innovative mobility devices for those with lower-limb paralysis kick-started this contest, now only five designers are in the running to win and each of them have received a whopping $500,000 so that their creations can become a reality!

‘The Mobility Unlimited Challenge’ has been set up by the Toyota Mobility Foundation along with Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre and will be concluded next year when the winning project will be revealed. In addition to the cash already awarded, the winner will win a further $1 million, a worthy prize to give to someone who is undoubtedly going to improve the quality of life for copious amounts of people.

Amongst the finalists, the designs include Moby; created by Italdesign, this scheme has been made so those with manual wheelchairs can slot into an electric-powered pod so that they can travel greater distances with much more ease.

Quix is another one of the final designs, which is a device with no wheels but a motor at the hips, knees and ankles, allowing users to move in a walking motion.

Without question, each of these devices will revolutionise the lives of those suffering with lower-limb paralysis and we can wait to see who the winner is!