From toddlers to teenagers: The Covid Letters exhibition gives children a voice

Responding to the Coronavirus pandemic through art.

Sports Banger founder Jonny Banger has launched a new exhibition, called The Covid Letters: A Vital Update, running at The Foundling Museum through January 2021.

As the first wave of the Coronavirus pandemic sent the UK into a national lockdown during March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent out letters to every household in the UK, urging all to stay home when possible.

In response, Banger invited young people under the age of 16 to draw on the letter to express their feelings.

“That letter was just a joke to me, so I put it in the hands of the kids, to see what they thought of it,” he explains. “I was just happy to let the kids have a voice.”

The Covid Letters collects over 200 of these artworks – with uplifting messages of support for NHS and key workers, alongside criticisms of the government, and the lack of PPE for healthcare workers.

Visitors will also have the opportunity to support the Christmas food bank run by Sports Banger & Friends, as well as The Foundling Museum’s work with disadvantaged young people, through the sale of Sports Banger merchandise and limited edition releases.

The Covid Letters: A Vital Update will run through the 17th January 2021.

Head here for more info, and check out a selection of the letters below.

Photo credit, in order of appearance: Kit, 3, Bristol © The artist; Vincent, 7, London © The artist; Ruby, 14, Manchester © The artist; Isla, 8, London © The artist; Roxy, 14, Derbyshire © The artist; Lorelei, 7, Colchester © The artist; Raahim, 12, London © The artist; Otto, 10, Stroud © The artist; Memphis, 3 and Niko, 6 months, Oxford © The artist.