The “Every Breath We Take” campaign, a powerful initiative aimed at raising awareness about the critical issue of air pollution, officially launches today. With a focus on community engagement, artistic expression, and education, this campaign seeks to ignite a movement for cleaner air and a healthier future.
Art Competition: Harnessing creativity to provoke thought and inspire change.
The heart of the campaign lies in its art competition, inviting artists of all ages and backgrounds to participate. Centred under the Westway flyover in North Kensington, the competition will showcase art which tells the story of the urban spaces our communities occupy. Where a vibrant, living, breathing community co-exists in the shadow of the imposing Westway structure.
The competition has a total prize pool of £10,000 across three categories.
- Open Category:
Artists are encouraged to unleash their creativity using any medium—paintings, drawings, sketches, sculptures, performances, multimedia, and more.
Prizes: Best National Artist: £2,000; Best Local Artist: £2,000
- Youth Category:
Open to artists aged 5 to 18 years.
Prizes: Four winners will each receive £500.
- Street Art Category:
Artists are invited to submit proposals for public art installations at twenty sites across the Westway Trust estate in North Kensington (London).
Entries in this category will be treated as commissions. Selected artists will be paid for their time and reimbursed for their expenses.
Prizes: Best National Artist: £2,000; Best Local Artist: £2,000
Submission Details
- Deadline for Expressions of Interest: 1 May, 2024
- Exhibition Dates: 27 May to 7 June, 2024
- Location: The Westway estate in North Kensington, spanning 23 acres of community land beneath the iconic Westway flyover.
A Visual Manifesto for Change
The exhibition will be more than a mere showcase; it will be a visual manifesto—a collective inhalation of hope.
Artists are invited to submit their artwork and let their imagination be the catalyst for a cleaner, healthier London. Together, we’ll transform every breath into a promise of life, not a peril.
Venu Dhupa, CEO of the Westway Trust, explains why the message of the campaign is so relevant for the North Kensington community.
“Good quality air is key to our health. The air in parts of London often falls below the quality threshold we would expect, especially in areas close to key road infrastructure. The traffic on the Westway affects the lives of the communities of North Kensington, as do the many building projects currently in the area. We want to raise awareness of this and whilst not holding back progress, we want to encourage communities to advocate aspirations for a cleaner environment in the future. We also want to lend voice to other campaigns because change is more likely if we work together.”
Duncan Higgins is Professor of Visual Art, Director of the Centre for Artistic Research at Nottingham Trent University, and Professor of Fine Art at University of Bergen, Norway. He explains why he has got involved as one of the competition’s judges.
“Art plays such a crucial role in our modern society by allowing us to express emotions, stimulate critical thinking, and cultural reflection. It serves as a powerful tool for communication, storytelling and reflection in shaping our culture and helping us make sense of the world around us. It has the ability to provoke thought and inspire change, making it an essential part of our everyday lives. “Every Breath We Take” creates an important opportunity for such dialogue to be created at Westway.”