Stories

As we move into the holiday season, and especially in a challenging year like 2020, it can be rewarding to think about the opportunities we have had to support causes for good – whether that means raising awareness or funding, or donating our time and energy.

The Art Room workshop on Dickinson’s Frieze Masters stand in 2016

 

One of our favourite charity collaborations at Dickinson has been with The Art Room, founded by Dr Juli Beattie OBE, a mental health specialist and advocate of art therapy for children. Thanks to Juli’s introduction, Dickinson was able to host several groups of children from London schools, first at our Jermyn Street gallery and later on our stands at Masterpiece and Frieze Masters. Our day at Dickinson included a tour of the gallery, the opportunity to create artworks inspired by the pieces hanging on our walls, and lunch with our team – who, it’s safe to say, enjoyed the day as much as the kids did. The students’ artworks were then exhibited alongside the originals that inspired them. We are currently looking ahead to future projects with Juli and her most recent project, AT The Bus, a mobile, school-based charity offering art therapy to children and young people. Our Managing Director, Emma Ward, is a Patron of the organisation.

https://www.atthebus.org.uk/

Dickinson’s stand at Frieze Masters 2018, recreating Barbara Hepworth’s St Ives sculpture garden

 

When we staged our popular recreation in spirit of Barbara Hepworth’s St Ives sculpture garden at Frieze Masters 2018, the visual appeal of the stand was due in large part to the garden atmosphere we established – with the help of several van-loads of artificial plants and flowers courtesy of Fake it Flowers. But what to do with these after the fair? The answer, in this case, was Herriot Hospice Homecare, a Yorkshire-based hospice organisation named after Emma’s grandfather, vet, author and Yorkshire hero James Herriot. By donating the artificial plants, we were able to offer the hospice a way to brighten their facilities without exposing patients to potential allergins from living plants – a win for all sides.

https://www.herriothh.org.uk/

Team Dickinson under purple lights for World Pancreatic Cancer Day

 

On the 19th of November each year, Dickinson illuminates the purple lights in our Jermyn Street gallery in honour of World Pancreatic Cancer day and in memory of a good friend of the gallery. Dickinson has also hosted a fundraising event to support pancreatic cancer research, and we hope to continue our efforts in coming years.

https://purplelightsuk.org/

20 Under 20 in 2020, Dickinson’s exhibition in support of the NHS emergency appeal

 

Most recently, Dickinson has sought to acknowledge and support the vital efforts of the NHS during this year’s Covid-19 pandemic. In the spring, we donated a percentage of profits from our online exhibition 20 under 20 to the NHS emergency appeal, and in the wake of that success, we again made the NHS the focus of our efforts in our Frieze Online presentation Spectrum, which also celebrated the rainbow symbol. Our other spring online exhibition The Days of the Week supported Whitman-Walker Health, a Washington DC-based community health and wellness organisation.

https://www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/covid-19-urgent-appeal-qas/

https://www.whitman-walker.org/

 

At Dickinson we appreciate the importance of supporting meaningful causes through our gallery work. It is an area of focus that we are all enthusiastic about expanding in 2021, and we look forward to bringing you more news of our charitable endeavours next year!