Top musicians support Youth Music with Art in a Corner
Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson, Imagine Dragons, Years & Years, The Libertines, Florence and the Machine, Jann Haworth and more take part in Beatles-inspired charity project.
Image: The painting that inspired the project: Images of a Woman by The Beatles. Photographed by Robert Whitaker, courtesy of Getty Images.
Commemorating the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ only collaborative painting ‘Images of a Woman’, Art in a Corner has got together some of the world’s biggest bands and performers to create their own version of the famous artwork, raising money for charities. We're thrilled that Youth Music has been chosen as one of two charities Art in a Corner will support (along with Children & the Arts).
All involved bands used art kits kindly donated by Cass Art, with materials closely matching those used by The Beatles in 1966. Involved artists include Elvis Costello, Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys) & Band, John Illsley (Dire Straits), Years & Years, The Libertines, Wolf Alice, Florence and the Machine, Jerry Dammers (The Specials), Boy George, Marillion, Imagine Dragons, Circa Waves, The Wombats, Level 42, The Right Hand Lovers (including comedians Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson), The Bootleg Beatles, The Pretty Things, and Jann Haworth, co-creator of the revered Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.
Superfans can get advance access to limited edition prints of the artwork through leading global direct-to-fan e-commerce platform, PledgeMusic. Also up for grabs will be special project experiences and other band-related material.
Sir Paul McCartney commented:
“We painted ‘Images of a Woman’ because we had nowhere to go, locked down in our room amid a national controversy and with 35,000 police officers assigned to protect us. Fifty years later, the painting has become a piece of art and music history. I’ve been looking forward to seeing how the Art in a Corner bands express themselves in paint. It’s a great opportunity to record something that can live on alongside the music.”
Youth Music’s CEO Matt Griffiths said:
“We’re thrilled to hear that so many revered musicians and bands have been putting time and effort into creating paintings that will support our work using music to transform the lives of young people in challenging circumstances. We’re hugely grateful to all those taking part and, of course, to Eazl for creating such an original fundraising project."
Paul Aspell, Founder, Eazl, added:
“This past year we’ve been blown away by the amount of support that’s been afforded to the project. From the likes of Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr supporting, to the beautiful and rare artwork created by some of today’s most important artists.
“Enabling Youth Music and Children & the Arts to carry on the great work they’re doing, we hope that fans dig deep, making a difference to the children and young people who depend on these wonderful charities, and getting their hands on a remarkable piece of music history.”
In addition to the activity on PledgeMusic, the project artwork will go on display in series of exhibitions across the UK, throughout September and October, to be held in special exhibition spaces operated by Cass Art and Pretty Green. Exhibited work will include backstage photos of The Beatles on tour in Japan in 1996 by renowned British photographer Robert Whitaker. The original paintings will then be sold via an online auction in October, with the proceeds going to the two charities.
We'll let you know more details over the next few months! To make sure you don't miss the latest updates, follow us on Twitter or Facebook.