Music photographers recently donated prints to raise money for live crews who have been unable to work during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Prints For Music initiative featured over 100 prints of popular artists such as Bob Marley, Katy Perry and David Bowie.
This is the first time that some of these images have been sold as prints, according to photographer Derek Ridgers.
“I’ve never sold a print of this photograph which makes it a little more exclusive,” he said on Twitter, referring to his photograph of Mick Jagger.
The initiative was organised by music and commercial photographer Ed Robinson, who has previously photographed Jessie J, Craig David, and Florence and the Machine, among others.
“Like so many others, the struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected me deeply on a personal level as well as professional,” he wrote on the Prints For Music website. “I have reached out to the people I know in the music industry with the simple idea to try to help those who are not getting the support they need to survive this crisis.”
“For many photographers who have been privileged enough to have been given access to photograph these artists, it is only been made possible by the efforts of their production teams. None of these photographs would have been possible without the artists and those who support them. This initiative is our way of giving back in their time of need. It will help preserve their livelihoods and enable the shows to go on in the future”
The prints are printed on A3 Hahnemuhle fine art paper and cost £95 each. They are not framed, but frames can be purchased through the printing company Genesis Imaging for a reduced rate.
All of the profits go to Stagehand’s Covid-19 Crew Relief Fund, which helps crew workers in the UK by offering grants of up to £500.
“The livelihoods of people working in live music productions has been decimated by the effects of COVID-19,” Mike Lowe, chair of Stagehand’s Board of Trustees said to NME. “Every day we hear from people who are struggling and Stagehand is raising funds to help those in most need, with the simple aim of helping to keep roofs over heads and food on tables.”
The Prints For Music Sale ran from 23 November to 21 December, raising over £115,000 in total for Stagehand’s COVID-19 relief fund.
Words by Ellen Leslie
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