More than 900 artworks on the back of an envelope will be on display at The National Brain Appeal’s A Letter In Mind exhibition this month.
All are on sale for £85, with the identity of the artist only revealed at the end of the exhibition.
Sixteen Crouch End, Islington and Muswell Hill artists have donated work which will be exhibited from October 29 to November 2 at Gallery Different in Fitzrovia, and online at shop.nationalbrainappeal.org.
Funds raised will go to support projects at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Bloomsbury.
The theme for this year’s exhibition is ‘The Wonder of Colour’ and Crouch End’s Jo Angell, Helen Brough, Sarah Barker Brown, Craig Barnard, Anne-Marie Butlin, Julia Clarke, Simon Cooper, Mark Entwisle, Julie Held, Russell Herron, Tony Palozzi and Alan Wolfson, Islington’s Ishbel Myerscough and Kika Pierides, and Muswell Hill’s Anita Mangan and Matthew Cooper have all donated original artworks.
Celebrities taking part include Dame Zandra Rhodes, Boiling Point and Line of Duty actor, Stephen Graham OBE, Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, comedian Harry Hill, presenter Andrew Marr, cartoonist Chris Riddell, actors Kevin Eldon, James Fleet, Sophie Thompson, Hannah Walters and Greg Wise.
One in six people are affected by neurological conditions and most of the artists or their families have experience of the likes of stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia.
Graphic designer and illustrator Anita Mangan has taken part every year since the exhibition started in 2014. Now a regular on Celebrity Gogglebox with her brother Stephen Mangan, Anita also illustrates children’s books written by the Camden-based actor.
Both are long-standing supporters of The National Brain Appeal, having lost their father, James, to brain cancer in 2005 and cousin Paul to the same disease in 2019.
Anita said: “A Letter in Mind is one of the highlights of my year. This year was especially exciting as the theme ‘the wonder of colour’ could not be more perfect for me.
“I love seeing how all the different artists respond to the same theme. No two pieces are ever the same! And the fact that it raises thousands for The National Brain Appeal makes it a permanent fixture on my calendar.”
Anita’s husband, Matthew Cooper, also an illustrator and graphic designer, known for designing album covers for the Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Noel Gallagher and Sir Paul McCartney, has also been affected by issues the charity raises funds for.
His late mother Ann, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was just 55.
Painter Ishbel Myerscough is another regular participant. She said: “The fact that it is not an auction appeals to me. All of the artworks are priced the same. I take time over the paintings I submit. I like that someone will be able to buy if for £85, something that they could never get in any other context. I make more effort because of the democracy and accessibility of it.”
Award-winning artist Mark Entwisle holds the National Hospital close to his heart having had treatment there for a brain tumour in 2019. He has been a dedicated supporter of The National Brain Appeal ever since and said: “There’s no way I wouldn’t take part in A Letter in Mind. I owe so much to the fantastic staff at the National Hospital and I love that I can do something positive to support them.”
Portrait painter Simon Cooper only discovered the charity this year and was delighted to support the exhibition. His daughter Grace has severe epilepsy and has been a patient at the National Hospital for ten years.
He said: “It has been so nice to do this and make a connection to the hospital as an artist. They have been amazing with my daughter and it is a lovely way to show my gratitude.”
Painter Julie Held also has personal reasons for supporting the charity. She lost her brother, political scientist Professor David Held, to brain cancer in 2019.
Her two sisters, Veronica Held and Susan Usiskin MBE, have both had surgery at the National Hospital and Susan went on to become an epilepsy counsellor at hospital.
Julie said: “Taking part in The National Brain Appeal’s exhibition is so important and personal to me. The National Hospital and neurological issues have played such a central role in the lives of my family.”
Julia Clarke, known for her wire sculptures including the stunning angel above the doorway of Crouch End’s Arthouse cinema, is taking part for the first time this year.
Also new to A Letter in Mind is painter Tony Palozzi, painter and poet Alan Wolfson who had a stroke in 2019, and contemporary landscape painter, Helen Brough whose mother has just been diagnosed with dementia and who now runs art classes for people with dementia.
Regular participants include contemporary painter Jo Angell, figurative painter Sarah Barker Brown, sculptor Craig Barnard, Anne-Marie Butlin, known for her still-life paintings of flowers, Russell Herron, who creates cardboard portrait drawings, and mixed media artist Kika Pierides.
A Letter in Mind previews online at shop.nationalbrainappeal.org and at Gallery Different, 14 Percy Street, from 29 October with online sales from 11am on 31 October. The exhibition runs until 2 November.
