On the hunt for artwork with a conscience? Us too – and so tomorrow we’ll have our fingers poised on the mouse for a very exciting collaboration between artist and designer Camille Walala and social enterprise Make Bank.
Walala has created 18 original and exclusive paintings which will be sold via Make Bank’s website from 9am on 31 March. The proceeds will be used to tackle creative poverty across UK schools, providing disadvantaged young creatives with art and design kits and the careers advice they need to thrive in the industry.
The artwork series, titled Forget Everything You Know, was created by Walala in France last summer and is as ambitious and colourful as one would expect from the artist, who is known for her large-scale, vibrant interventions in public spaces. Her work encompasses full-facade murals, immersive 3D installations, street art, interiors and set design – characterised by a fusion of bold colours and playful geometric patterns.
Each piece in Walala’s series for Make Bank will be sold for £1,000, offering a rare opportunity to own an original by the artist.
“My main goal was to create pieces of work without having a finished aesthetic in my head,” says Walala.
“I wanted to change elements of my signature style as I felt it was starting to become stagnant. By using automatic painting I could let go and not feel too precious about the end results. I surprised myself with many compositions that I loved! This exercise has led on to further study of certain ideas that had emerged.
“I’m so very happy to be supporting Make Bank, I think the work they do is great! All children should have access to a creative outlet in life. It shouldn’t just be for the privileged.”
Make Bank was established by Kirsty Thomas, the designer behind studio Tom Pigeon. The organisation has donated more than 4,000 kits to school pupils and refugee organisations since its launch in 2019.
“We set up Make Bank to tackle poverty and barriers to learning in creative subjects at secondary school level. Pupils not only struggle to access the materials they need to succeed but can also find it difficult to themselves represented in the creative industries. We want our industry to be accessible, representative and welcoming,” says Thomas.
“Working with Camille on this project has been amazing. We have been blown away by her positivity and generosity – it’s a dream project for us and the impact on the pupils we work with will be truly life-changing.”
The paintings will be available at www.themakebank.org.uk from 9am on 31 March 2022.
