To celebrate World Mental Health Day, Bauer Media and Alter-Projects have teamed up to launch a campaign involving the creative community to raise awareness of mental health in the UK and raise money for mental health charity Chasing the Stigma. The initiative, part of Bauer Media’s and Chasing the Stigma’s #PledgeKindness campaign, invites artists to post their artworks online – on sale from Saturday 10th October – and encourage people to pledge an act of kindness.

The initiative will culminate with a pop-up exhibition at Mayfair’s Sook Space this Saturday, showcasing a selection of the works for sale from artists including Yuri Suzuki, Rasha Kahil, Bethan Laura Wood and Emily Forgot. Co-curated by Leo Babsky, the physical exhibition will have the theme of ‘Kindness’ and 10% of sales will be donated to Chasing the Stigma.

The digital campaign and exhibition are part of the #PledgeKindness campaign, which asks Brits to do something kind for someone else by ‘pinning’ their pledges to an interactive digital map. The campaign – which sits under Bauer’s long-standing mental health awareness initiative Where’s Your Head At? – aims to collect 10,000 pledges by World Mental Health Day. It has so far been supported by magazines Grazia, heat and Yours, radio stations Magic Radio, KISS, Hits Radio and Absolute Radio, and stars such as Little Mix, Olly Murs, James Bay and Laura Whitmore.

All art on sale will be visible on the #PledgeKindness interactive digital map. In the lead up to the online sales and to the physical exhibition, the artists and designers will be teasing their artwork for sale online, encouraging others to pledge an act of kindness to get a sneak peek. As well as being online, the map will be shown on screens at the exhibition at Sook Space encouraging guests to pledge there in the room. Sook’s revolutionary model transforms traditional retail environments into adaptive spaces by installing a modular digital fit-out that occupiers can design and curate online. Landlord Grosvenor Britain and Ireland has also participated in the initiative; pledging an act of kindness in facilitating the set-up of the Gallery Space.

The interactive digital map has been built in partnership with Chasing the Stigma’s Hub of Hope app; which brings together all the mental health support available to someone in any given area. The Hub of Hope is the only service of its kind that brings together NHS, voluntary, grassroots, private and third sector mental health support details nationally and locally, with over 1,800 services registered and its database growing daily.

Lucie Cave, Creative Editorial Director, Bauer Media said: “We’ve been proactively campaigning for mental health awareness since 2018 and know mental health is even more of an issue this year with coronavirus and lockdown impacting our livelihoods. That’s why we’re so proud to be launching the #PledgeKindness campaign with Chasing the Stigma and work with these incredible artists and Alter Projects to hold this exhibition. Come join us on Saturday, pledge an act of kindness and perhaps leave with a new piece of art for your home!”

Anne Pingreoun, Founder and Curator, Alter-Projects said: “"The opportunity to work alongside Bauer Media was born out of the Global Design Forum panel discussion State of Mind: the Intersection of Design and Mental Health that included Lucie Cave, where we discussed the lack of support for mental health in our industry. Our mission is comprehensively rooted in finding practical solutions to a problem that very much exists today; in the creative industry, and beyond. We wanted to respond to our own call to action, in a sense, and we have found tremendous support from all those involved, especially from the creative industry. This initiative goes to show that positive change is truly viable when communities come together.”

Yuri Suzuki, sound designer and Artist said: “I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this important cause. Mental health is something that must be talked about openly and empathetically, yet so often it is not. ‘Kindness’ is an incredibly apt theme for this exhibition and is a vital communicative tool. I will be selling a signed EZ Record maker for this cause - allowing you to record and share your sounds and memories in a physical format.”

Artists showcasing their works at the exhibition include:
Yuri Suzuki
Rasha Kahil
Sebastian Bergne
Bethan Laura Wood
Emily Forgot
Morag Myerscough
Richard Woods
Orlanda Broom
Theodora Alfredsdottir
Raymond Pettibon
Teresa Eng
Trystan Williams

With more names to be announced later this week…

For more information on the campaign and to pledge a small act of kindness now, please visit https://www.wheresyourheadat.org/

Exhibition Information:
Address: Sook Space - 42 S Molton St, London W1K 5RR
Opening Date: Saturday, 10th October
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 19:00