Joy of Living is a charity project that unites over 100 leading lights in the design community to galvanise support for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. Design author Max Fraser has set the challenge to a cross-section of new and established UK designers to create a desirable artwork that expresses the Joy of Living – all starting from a simple sheet of A4 graph paper. The signed works will be exhibited and on sale in London’s inspiring space for art, culture and creative exchange, Somerset House, from 15 – 21 March. The project aims to raise £50,000 for Maggie’s, a charity that helps people to build a life beyond cancer, helping to manage the impact of a diagnosis of cancer and to live with hope and determination.

Max Fraser explains, “After a very personal, emotional journey as I supported my mother through her 6-year battle with cancer, I vowed to contribute in some way to mankind’s fight against this disease. Maggie’s recognises that building an atmosphere of calm and celebrating a good quality of life are immensely beneficial to patients, and I know that my mother would have benefited so positively from its services. Charity founder Maggie Keswick Jencks once said, “Above all what matters is not to lose the joy of living in the fear of dying,” and this statement has inspired the design challenge and Joy of Living project.”

A stellar list of UK design talent including: Terence Conran, Tom Dixon, Barber Osgerby, Sebastian Bergne, John Pawson, Tomoko Azumi, Daniel Eatock, Fredrikson Stallard, Martino Gamper, Rob Ryan, Stuart Haygarth, Michael Marriott, Max Lamb, and Troika have already answered the call to action, and have each produced unique artworks that embody the Joy of Living theme.

The fluid brief allows for a maximum of expression and the use of graph paper is evocative of the beginning of the design process, and Max hopes that the choice of this simple medium will trigger a breadth of responses. The graph paper can be used in any manner by the designer. Each designer will also supply a short text on the inspiration for their finished, signed piece. Habitat has partnered with the project to frame each artwork for the March exhibition.

Because democratic values are at the core of Maggie’s philosophy, each artwork will be priced at £250, whether by a household name or a rising star. What’s more, the name of the designer will not be revealed until the piece is purchased, making sure that supporters buy a piece to which they have a true emotional response.

Max Fraser said, “The time and commitment that so many designers have already pledged to the Joy of Living project is truly amazing, and I hope that together, and with the further support of the design industry, we can raise our target funds to back the brilliant work that Maggie’s does around the country.”

“Maggie’s founder, Maggie Keswick Jencks, always stressed the importance of creating a welcoming, calm, yet uplifting environment in our centres,” said Laura Lee, Chief Executive of Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres. “We have engaged with leading architects to design our existing centres, and our mission is to build more across the UK with the generous support of projects like this. Good design is core to our beliefs so it makes perfect sense to partner with the design industry on a project of this kind.”

Joy of Living is a personal project by Max Fraser and is backed by his brand, london design guide, which is launching its very first award in conjunction with the project. £1000 will be awarded to the designer who best responds to the Joy of Living brief, as selected by a confirmed jury comprising Claire Catterall (Curator, Somerset House), Marcus Fairs (Editor, Dezeen), Max Fraser, Charles Jencks, (Co-founder of Maggie’s) and Lynda Relph-Knight (Editor, Design Week). A further £500 award will be given to the designer of the most popular artwork, as chosen by a public vote.

All artworks will be available to view online at www.londondesignguide.com/joyofliving from 1st March 2011. Donations
can be made online at www.justgiving.com/joyofliving
Joy of Living will be exhibited in the Great Arch lobby at Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
from 15 – 21 March 2011 and will be open to the public from 10am – 6pm daily.
The press preview will take place on Monday 14 March from 5 – 6:30pm,
followed by the launch event from 6:30 – 8:30pm (invitation only).
For further information, images or interview requests, please contact: Roberta Snape/Charlotte Bury at Camron
Tel: +44 (0)20 7420 1700 | Email: roberta.snape@camronpr.com/charlotte.bury@camronpr.com

Notes to Editors

Confirmed Designers include:
Michael Anastassiades
Richard Ardagh
Shin Azumi
Tomoko Azumi
Barber Osgerby
Johanna Basford
Sebastian Bergne
Marc Boase
Tord Boontje
Alex Bradley & Melanie Graf
Jason Bruges
Ed Carpenter
Terence Conran
Peter Crawley
Anthony Dickens
Tom Dixon
Ella Doran
Daniel Eatock
Michael Eden
Robin Farquhar
Mark Farrow
Fredrikson Stallard
Martino Gamper
Alistair Hall
Jon Harrison
Simon Hasan
Stuart Haygarth
Sam Hecht
Simon Heijdens
Hive
Mark Holmes
Benjamin Hubert
Jam Design
Sam Johnson
Andre Klauser
Max Lamb
Peter Marigold
Michael Marriott
Hannah Martin
Giles Miller
Helen Amy Murray
Gareth Neal
Brodie Neill
John Pawson
Pearsonlloyd
Simon Pengelly
Russell Pinch
Steve Price
Jacqueline Rabun
Raw Edges
Rob Ryan
Ismini Samanidou
Andrew Stafford
Richard Sweeney
Alex Taylor
Timorous Beasties
Nina Tolstrup
Troika
Twocreate
Viable London
Voon Wong & Benson Saw
Moritz Waldemeyer
Donna Wilson
Wokmedia
Michael Wolfson
Terence Woodgate
Richard Woods
Sebastian Wrong
Dan Ziglam

Maggie’s www.maggiescentres.org
Maggie’s is a charity which empowers people to live with, through, and beyond cancer through a network of unique cancer caring centres across the UK, designed by superstar architects such as Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry and Richard Rogers. Maggie’s is a young and extremely dynamic organisation: founded in 1996 the charity was conceived by Maggie Keswick Jencks who, along with her husband, renowned landscape architect Charles Jencks, identified the need for a space where people affected by cancer could be empowered to help themselves with the many non-medical challenges associated with the disease. There are now seven Maggie’s centres based near major cancer hospitals throughout the UK, and plans for more if enough money can be raised. Design is an integral part of what makes Maggie’s Centres unique. Maggie’s creates uplifting spaces that are resolutely non-institutional. Like Lubetkin, who designed the ground-breaking Finsbury Health Centre in London in 1938, Maggie’s believes that “Nothing is too good for ordinary people”; that beautiful surroundings should not be the preserve of the privileged. The detailed brief they provide to
architects is centred on the needs of the people who visit the centres, but it also allows broad creative scope and artistic interpretation.

Through this, Maggie’s has succeeded in creating a network of centres that are exquisitely idiosyncratic in their design but utterly consistent in the community of care they create for people affected by cancer.

Max Fraser
Max Fraser is a design commentator, working across the media of books, magazines, internet, exhibitions, video, and events to broaden the conversation around contemporary design. He delivers content, commentary, and strategy for a variety of public and private bodies in the UK and abroad. He is the author of several design books including design uk and designers on design, which he co-wrote with Sir Terence Conran. More recently, he edited and published london design guide.

london design guide www.londondesignguide.com
london design guide is the first publication dedicated to the designscape of London. It is edited by Max Fraser and is the first book that his company Spotlight Press has published. The second edition of the guide will be released in September 2011.

Camron PR www.camronpr.com
Camron PR is one of the leading PR agencies in the fields of design, interiors, art, food, fashion, publishing, travel, and luxury. They represent an impressive client list of leading brands and entrepreneurs who come to them for their market intelligence, strategic thinking, and industry knowledge and for their reputation at delivering strong media coverage.

Somerset House www.somersethouse.org.uk
Somerset House is a spectacular neo-classical building in the heart of London, sitting between the Strand and the River Thames. Since opening to the public in 2000, Somerset House has produced a distinctive public programme that annually draws over 1.2 million visitors to the site, providing a stimulating environment for exploration and relaxation. The varied, year-round programme includes an open air film and concert season and ice rink, as well as temporary exhibitions focusing on contemporary fashion, architecture, art and design, family workshops and free guided tours. In September 2009, Somerset House became the new home of London Fashion Week.