Limited edition art book featuring 144 British and international graphic artists launched
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What do you get when you bring four leading talents from the British design and creative scene together with a mission to do something very cool for cancer?

“Memories” is a beautifully conceived, crafted and printed book with over 175 inspirational pages combining touching storytelling and original illustrations from 144 different artists around the world, each inspired to uniquely interpret one of 12 tales of living and positively dealing with cancer.

The limited edition Memories book, (there are only 700 copies available to buy), was launched in London last week. The cover price in its entirety will be donated to Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres in the UK. The charity helps hundreds of cancer victims and their families every day, and each purpose-built sanctuary fosters an atmosphere of understanding, support – and design creativity.

The book is the brainchild of four creatives who wanted to combine their skills to make a contribution to the daily work of Maggie’s and the way they help people touched by cancer. It is made all the more relevant because Garrick Webster, Rishi Sodha, Antony Kitson and Stuart Boyd have all been touched by experiences of the disease (as in fact have most people either directly or indirectly) and they created Memories as a positive statement on the way human beings work together to grab this thing by the scruff of the neck and deal with it.

The featured artists include Vaughan Oliver, Si Scott, Deane Cheuk, Mario Hugo, Gary Taxali and Autumn Whitehurst and hail from cities around the globe: London, Paris, New York, Barcelona, Queensland, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and more.

Laura Lee, chief executive of Maggie’s said: “We have been privileged to see and been moved by the total honesty in each of the stories. Inside the book are a dozen wonderfully written texts by people who have survived cancer, or lost a loved one to what we hope will one day be a curable disease. Each touching work is complemented with 12 illustrations by different artists who have interpreted the stories visually in their way. The end result of Memories delivers a positive atmosphere that is totally in keeping with what Maggie’s does every day.”

Garrick Webster, co-producer and editor of Memories said, “We wanted this book to do two things. Firstly to generate awareness of the positive side of cancer diagnosis, and the daily work of the good people at every Maggie’s centre; which is all about supporting people with affirmative relationships. Secondly we wanted the Memories book to be accessible to anyone, from brassic students to CEO’s, carers and fundraisers. The £10 cover price is a small sum to pay for such a huge amount of creativity but we hope that Memories will become a catalyst for further contributions to Maggie’s. We are hugely indebted to the writers, artists, printers and suppliers for giving their time, resources and creatively so freely. The book is a lasting testament to their commitment and with only 700 copies available there will be very few owners around the world able to enjoy it!”

Johann Chan, is one of the 144 designers and illustrators. He said: “Memories connected with me from day one, you could see that the book would hit the ground running and that the momentum built by Garrick and his team was already incredible. This book is a totally radical and original creative concept, with genuine substance and emotion. It affected me too, after reading Antony’s story, understanding the intimacy between the father and son, at first I wondered if I could do the story justice with the artwork, but then the work flowed because it was driven by something so deeply loaded with human emotions, which is what art should be all about.”

The book is being published with the help of the writers, artists and many friends including UK-based printers Taylor Bloxham.

The Memories book can only be purchased online at http://subism.co.uk/checkout/books/the-memories-book/ Information on Maggie’s can be found by visiting http://www.maggiescentres.org/