Visual artists and musicians pair up to create unique artworks for charity

How has music shaped your life? For many it’s a question that runs deep, and it’s also the subject that a returning initiative helmed by In Place Of War – a global charity that uses art and creativity as a tool for positive change within some of the world’s most vulnerable and ravaged communities – aims to explore via a new series of specially commissioned collaborations.

'We had the idea of a kind of “matchmaking” service for visual artists and musical artists from our network and beyond, for a conversation that would then inspire a new artwork,' explains the project’s senior producer, Rozenn Logan. Last year, Music Shaped’s inaugural outing featured creatives including legendary musician and In Place of War fellow Brian Eno with Icelandic artist Ragnar Jonasson, and Mercury-nominated singer Self Esteem (aka Rebecca Lucy Taylor) with Sheffield photographer Karina Lax. Raising money via an auction of the final works, the project raised £32,000, with Taylor’s photo currently displayed in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

In 2025, Music Shaped has upped the ante, with 24 creatives across genres and mediums pairing off to inspire a new collection as vibrant and varied as the subject itself. 'The conversations go off in different directions and tangents, but they’re always within the realms of music, art, creative process, and all the things connected to that,' Logan continues. 'Sometimes this spans politics or philosophy, comedy, identity, religion – or just simply how much the colour pink means to someone.'

Among those taking part are Idles vocalist Joe Talbot and Bristol artist Penfold, Radiohead’s Philip Selway and graffiti artist Remi Rough, and Norwegian singer Aurora, who returns for a second year alongside Italian photographic artist Petite Doll. Louis Theroux – who released a song sampling a previous interview clip in 2022 – is paired with Turner Prize-winning Jeremy Deller, while actor Maxine Peake, who has featured on tracks with electronic duo The Eccentronic Research Council, has worked with graphic designer Peter Saville.

Comedian and podcast host Adam Buxton teamed up with fellow comedian and visual artist Joe Lycett for their piece: a painting in Lycett’s bright, purposefully naive style of a Casio VL-Tone keyboard, adorned with the phrase ‘Fucking Amateurs’. 'I think we both feel like amateurs in some way, and for me [finding the Casio VL-Tone] was a really important moment of appreciating that you could make worthwhile music with very little actual musical skill,' says Buxton, who released his debut album Buckle Up earlier this year. 'I always loved that synthesisers and cheap keyboards opened the door to the world of music to someone like me. But I was also aware that a lot of people really hated those sounds for that reason, and thought it wasn’t proper music. So I guess the painting is giving a voice to those who really hate people like me,' he laughs, 'and the kind of music that I love and make.'

Another pairing across the project features Steve Ignorant – frontman of 1980s anarcho-punk band Crass – and visual artist Maisie Cousins. Cousins frequently uses collage in her work and wanted to highlight their shared DIY sensibilities and love of imperfections in her own piece. 'I feel like the visual language world is so polished, but we connected over looking at the human error in things,' she explains. 'I thought it would be more interesting to be paired with someone who was different than me – who wasn’t also a 30-year-old woman. But then we realised we're probably not that dissimilar.'

'We just hit it off,' Ignorant shrugs. 'I think it's because we're not snobs.'

There’s a camaraderie to the project – which will culminate in an auction of the artworks at Bonhams, online and in person between 25 November and 3 December 2025 – that showcases the power of music and art in sparking ideas and bringing people together; the exact reasoning behind In Place of War’s powerful investment in creativity as an act of resistance.

'We’ve seen how art and music can transcend other forms of communication and bypass systems designed to silence people, so it’s incredibly important to our work,' Logan says. 'From female musicians in politically oppressed contexts in Zimbabwe and Brazil, to the concept of “Beautiful Resistance” in Palestine, and how hip hop saves lives in Colombia, these radical, subversive people are using art as a creative response to multiple crises, and transforming their communities and the world around them.

'Art is the first thing that suffers when cuts are made by governments and it’s the last thing that’s considered in any way essential – especially in an emergency situation or where people are living under all kinds of extreme conditions. The last thing you think about is, “Where are we going to put the art!”' says Buxton. 'But actually, it’s a really essential part of making life worth living, and it’s what gives meaning and form to a lot of what we do, and it’s the fun part of what we do. Without it, things get a bit bleak, and for people whose lives are already extremely bleak, it’s even more important.'

Ignorant, who spent his career creating protest music with Crass, puts it simply: 'It's very easy to look out your window and put yourself into a little dark corner and think the world is always going to be shit and it always has been. I've done that before, and it's a very dangerous place to be. So if you can find something to look at that moves you, or someone comes up with an image that can take you out of the misery that we're in, that makes you smile or feel good for five minutes, then that's worthwhile.'

The pieces created for Music Shaped 2025 will form part of the Sound and Cinema Auction presented by Bonhams online from 24 November – 3 December 2025. Proceeds from the artworks will support In Place of War’s #HackMusic Programme, which provides critical catalyst funding to support the development of essential life-changing music projects with indigenous communities; LGBTQI+ artists; artists in conflict zones; and artists responding to the climate crisis.

inplaceofwar.net