Big names confirmed for ‘Art for Action’

A whole host of well-known names have now confirmed their involvement in this year’s ‘Art for Action’ at Tudor Barn Belstead, near Ipswich on Thursday, 18 May.

We are delighted to announce that international best-selling crime author Peter James has donated a piece, as has Charlie Simpson from the multi-BRIT Award-winning band ‘Busted’ along with Paralympian legend Jody Cundy OBE.

They join a number of artists already committed for 18 May including Maggi Hambling, Tory Lawrence, Andrew Lambirth, Keith Salmon, Julian Bell, Mary Gundry, Helen Armstrong Bland, Derek Chambers, Peter McCarthy, Annabel Dover, Becky Munting, Roger Hardy and Jackie Cotton.

We also have great pleasure in announcing that an extremely special guest will be opening the event. Baby Aiden suffered from a shortage of oxygen at birth and for the first few hours his parents Keith and Fleur didn’t know whether he had survived. He was whisked away to the intensive care unit where the team began to reduce his body temperature to protect him from brain damage, a process known as cooling therapy. This breakthrough therapy is the product of a 20-year programme of research to which Action Medical Research contributed.

Aiden, now two and a half, will be joined by Keith and Fleur who will talk about his condition and research that Action has funded in this area.

Each art piece will cost just £30 and you will not know who your art is created by until the end of the evening.

The fundraising event was first held in 2015 and raised nearly £11,000 for Action Medical Research. There were 188 artworks on display, many of which were created by celebrity supporters of the charity and talented, high-profile artists.

Action Medical Research is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children. It has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.

The charity is currently funding research into conditions including asthma, prematurity, epilepsy, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.

For more information on contributing to Art for Action, contact Lucy Hynes, Community Fundraising Manager, on 01394 610378 or email lhynes@action.org.uk

The event is this year sponsored by Clarke & Simpson, Ensors Chartered Accountants, Barker Gotelee Solicitors, Clayden Financial, Ryans, Handelsbanken, Classic Stove and Ranges and Whites Catering.

-END-

NOTES TO EDITORS

To download a photo of Aiden:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/aiden_0.jpg

Around 1,300 babies develop a life-threatening brain condition called neonatal encephalopathy, or NE, each year in the UK,^1,2

NE affects newborn babies in the first hours or days of life, often with devastating results. Sadly, many babies with NE lose their lives and those who survive can develop serious lifelong problems such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, learning difficulties and deafness.

Cooling a baby’s temperature down by 3°C for three days – starting as soon as possible after birth – improves their chances of surviving and escaping disability.

References

1. Lee ACC et al. Intrapartum-related neonatal encephalopathy incidence and impairment at regional and global levels for 2010 with trends from 1990. Pediatric Research 2013; 74: 50-72.

2. Office for National Statistics. Annual Mid-year Population Estimates, 2011 and 2012. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/population-estimates-for-uk--... Website accessed 7 October 2014.

For more information on Action Medical Research, contact Peter Denton, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:
T: 01403 327480
E:pdenton@action.org.uk
W: action.org.uk

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Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.

Join our fight for little lives today.

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