A new installation by artist STIK was unveiled in Central London last week. The digital artwork revolved around the historical Piccadilly Lights, the largest public screen in Europe and depicted a group of young people holding hands as a symbol of hope and solidarity both locally and internationally during the Coronavirus Lockdown.
We Are Together, illuminating Piccadilly Circus
The special artwork was created by STIK for the Young Westminster Foundation as the flagship campaign to raise core funding for their crucial work with young people in the local community. With one in three young people in the borough growing up in poverty, and many lacking access to the Internet, the charity is doing absolutely vital work to aid young Londoners in need.
We Are Together, Picadilly Circus
This is not the first time that the British street artist has supported a charitable cause. in 2016, Stik's Sleeping Baby prints raised £32,500 at Christie’s in aid of Homerton Hospital and in 2018, Up on the Roof, an eight-foot tall, plywood rendition of the Hackney-based artist’s iconic stick figure, sold for ten times its minimum guide price, raising £150,000 for a local theatre company dedicated to helping homeless people.
Sleeping Baby (NHS Blue), 2015
STIK's relationship with the community is an intrinsic part of Stik’s work. His art is focused on the communities within which he works; each location is carefully chosen and before making any street pieces he always seeks the endorsement of the people who live in the community, regardless of whether he has the permission of local authorities.
Art Thief, Pitfield Street, London
He also returns to his paintings as often as he can to keep them clean and maintained. “You have to work with the building and the street, so it becomes a real collaboration with the city. If you’re just slapping your image on a surface, you’re not really engaging”, he says.
