Major artists design vinyl record sleeves to aid refugee charity
For the seventh and final edition of the Secret 7” charity auction, artists including Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tacita Dean and Anish Kapoor have designed one-of-a-kind record sleeves for iconic tracks

In a harmonious marriage of art, music and humanitarianism, the final edition of Secret 7" will auction off artist-designed record sleeves in aid of charity Help Refugees. The format is simple: seven tracks are chosen from seven of the world’s most eminent musicians and each is pressed 100 times to 7” vinyl. Among the 700 designers creating one-of-a-kind sleeves for this year's singles are Anish Kapoor, Tacita Dean, Jadé Fadojutimi, Lubaina Himid, Ragnar Kjartansson, Mark Wallinger, Jake & Dinos Chapman and Jeremy Deller.
Appealing to record fanatics and art enthusiasts alike, sleeves have been designed for one of a choice of seven classic tracks including One Step Ahead, by Aretha Franklin; Blind Willie McTell, by Bob Dylan; This Is A Call by Foo Fighters and Miles Runs The Voodoo Down, by Miles Davis.
There’s one catch: the identity of both the sleeve designer and track inside will remain under wraps until the record reaches its owner’s hands. All 700 records will be exhibited at NOW Gallery on Greenwich Peninsula from Wednesday 14 October - Sunday 1 November and will be sold via digital auction on the final day.
What began as a ‘side hustle’ in 2012 has now raised more than £215,000 for charitable causes and Secret 7" founders Kevin King and Jordan Stokes hope this final sale can bring the total to £250,000. Since their inception, the initiative has seen participating musicians include The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Public Enemy and original artwork created by the likes of Jenny Holzer, Yoko Ono and fashion designer Paul Smith.
In partnership with Columbia Records, Now Gallery and Camden Town Brewery, the project will raise funds for Help Refugees, a charity that provides both emergency aid and long term solutions – including food, clothing and shelter – to those most in need across the globe. The organisation has so far reached more than one million people through more than 120 projects in 15 countries.
INFORMATION
Secret 7” will be on view at NOW Gallery from 14 Oct - 1 November 2020. The public charity auction will be held online on 1 November.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
ADDRESS
NOW Gallery
The Gateway Pavilions
Peninsula Square, Greenwich Peninsula
London SE10 0SQ
Harriet Lloyd-Smith was the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.
-
The world’s most exclusive auto show? The Quail is now a hotspot of high-end car launches
The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering brings a few thousand well-heeled car buyers to a Californian golf course to showcase the latest in luxury and sporting auto design
-
Why everyone in LA is talking about Café Tondo
Helmed by chef Valeria Velásquez and designed by Aunt Studio, this new spot delivers Latin American buzz all day long
-
Inside the Waldorf Astoria's dazzling restoration, from cigar smoke to snowy owls
How a team of architects from SOM and a group of art conservationists brought New York's grand dame back to her original Art Deco splendor
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
Another week, another flurry of events, opening and excursions showcasing the best of culture and entertainment at home and abroad. Catch our editors at Scandi festivals, iconic jazz clubs, and running the length of Manhattan…
-
Pantone’s new public art installation is a tribute to Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’, 25 years after its release
The colour company has created a – you guessed it – yellow colour swatch on some steps in Wembley Park, London, where the band will play ten shows this month
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
The Wallpaper* team immersed themselves in culture this week, attending theatre, music and art performances and exhibitions at some of London’s most esteemed establishments. Along the way, we may have discovered the city's best salad…
-
Out of office: the Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the week
It’s been another week of Wallpaper* being first through the door – visiting, sampling and reporting back on the freshest in art, design, beauty and more. Highlights included a new rental development, skincare residency and Edinburgh hotel…
-
Get the picture? A new exhibition explores the beautiful simplicity of Japanese pictograms
The simple, minimalist forms of a pictogram are uniquely Japanese, as new exhibition 'Pictograms: Iconic Japanese Designs' illustrates
-
From Snapchat dysmorphia to looksmaxing, have digital beauty standards made us lose sight of what's real, asks a new exhibition
AI, social media and the ease with which we can tweak our face mean we're heading towards a dystopian beauty future, argues 'Virtual Beauty' at Somerset House
-
Take a rare peek inside eighties London's most famous club
From George Michael to Boy George, photographer David Koppel captured a who's who of celerities at Eighties nightclub Limelight
-
Thirty-five years after its creation, Lynn Hershman Leeson’s seminal video is as poignant as ever
Lynn Hershman Leeson’s 'Desire Inc', at 243 Luz in Margate, blurs the boundaries between art and reality