Creatives Against Covid: Bravo to the Irish design community raising vital funds with this cool initiative

By IMAGE
24th Apr 2020

Emma Loughlin

Creatives Against Covid: Bravo to the Irish design community raising vital funds with this cool initiative

Ruth O’Connor talks to the people behind Creatives Against Covid as they get ready to raise funds for Women’s Aid and ISPCC Childline by selling a series of original design works this weekend.

We’re all spending a lot more time indoors at the moment so if you’ve got a blank space on your wall that’s just begging to be filled then you’ll love the Creatives Against Covid-19 campaign.

Emotive explosions of colour

From this weekend, you can buy the work of leading artists, illustrators, typographers, photographers and more for just €40 a pop – netting yourself a brilliant piece of topical contemporary design whilst helping to fund two vital Irish charities – Women’s Aid and ISPCC Childline.

The result is a brilliant explosion of colour and creativity – sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always emotive

Choosing the theme of “Soon” the Creatives Against Covid-19 team wanted to reframe the current crisis into something more hopeful and optimistic and asked creatives to explore ideas of togetherness, solidarity, resilience and hope – positive sentiments we could all do with right now.

The result is a brilliant explosion of colour and creativity – sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always emotive – that illustrates life as we know it now and life as we hope to live it soon.

Here you’ll find ideas that just weeks ago seemed perfectly normal but now seem anathema to daily life – simple things like hugging, dancing and cups of tea with friends; collective sea swimming and sunsets, kids playing with best pals and football matches, creamy pints in pubs and even hungry seagulls dreaming of chips to steal.

With over 1,200 submissions from over 30 countries in just seven days, the response was phenomenal

Meet the collaborators

The Creatives Against Covid-19 campaign is led by Dublin-based brand and design agency RichardsDee. Founders Simon Richards and Celine Dee have partnered on the project with many well-known names in the design and art arena including designer Shauna Buckley, typographer and designer Emma Conway, photographer Sarah Doyle, motion designer Ryan Kavanagh, artist and illustrator Fuchsia MacAree, designer Rory Simms and the collaborative art duo The Project Twins.

Making a difference where it matters

The Women’s Aid National Helpline is reporting increased pressure on their services as women around the country find themselves in a heightened state of alert, trauma and anxiety.

And here’s the important bit. When you purchase one of these posters you not only get a beautiful piece of work to hang on your wall and to mark the extraordinary times we’re living in but you’re also helping to fund Women’s Aid and ISPCC Childline – two charities who need funding now more than ever.

The Women’s Aid National Helpline is reporting increased pressure on their services as women around the country find themselves in a heightened state of alert, trauma and anxiety. The “perfect storm” of societal restrictions coupled with increased financial pressure has led to an increase in the number and severity of incidents of domestic abuse across the country.

“Domestic abuse escalates in times of economic and social crisis, so Women’s Aid has had to escalate too, in order to be able to support the women who contact us,” says Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid. “The funds raised through Creatives against Covid-19 will help us to continue providing support to callers to the 24 Hour National Freephone Helpline, as well as providing specialist court support by phone. It’s so important for us to be able to reassure women that Women’s Aid will be there for them for as long as they need us.”

Vital lifelines

Caroline O’Sullivan, Director of Services at ISPCC Childline also says that demand for the charity’s services continues to grow at the current time. “Unfortunately, abuse, mental health difficulties and other issues do not stop in a pandemic,” says O’Sullivan. “Childline needs to continue to be here for children and young people 24 hours a day, every day, but we need the public’s help to make this possible. All of the creators involved with Creatives Against Covid-19 – and all who support our services – will be a part of every Childline engagement with a child. ISPCC Childline is hugely grateful for the generosity of creatives across Ireland and beyond at this critical time.”