Hackney artist Cate Halpin standing with her print, outside Homerton Hospital.
- Credit: Courtesy of Cate Halpin
A Hackney artist has launched an art print campaign supporting a pay rise in real terms for NHS workers.
Artist Cate Halpin, and her mostly Hackney team, plan to gift protest prints to NHS workers to pay tribute to their hard work during the pandemic, and show support for better pay for staff.
She wants prints to go beyond gallery walls , directly to workers, so they can display them in staff rooms, common rooms, hospitals and GP surgeries.
Cate said: I wish to demonstrate our love and respect for the NHS and the individuals who make up our cradle to grave’ national treasure.
Founder of Children With Voices, Michelle Dornelly, with chef Elaine Chalmers.
- Credit: Courtesy of Elaine Chalmers
Even before the pandemic, Hackney had the third highest child poverty rate in the UK, according to a Child Poverty Action Group study, and this has only worsened over the course of 2020.
Elaine and her group were inspired to act by anger and frustration at the current situation, and by Marcus Rashford’s free school meals campaign.
“Let’s face it, the government isn’t going to do it,” she said.
At a time of increased isolation and its profound impact on mental health, the initiative aims to make people feel good.