Sheffield artist teams up with city charities to produce piece in memory of late father

Kid Acne, whose monumental word paintings can be seen all over the city, designed the piece for Project 6, a Sheffield drug and alcohol clinic which helps people overcome addiction.

The print will in turn be produced by Printed By Us, a charity owned by the Cathedral Archer Project which helps vulnerable people in Sheffield move into the world of work.

The piece, entitled ‘Stick To The Plan’, is a reference to the discipline needed to recover from addiction and was inspired by the artist’s late father, who struggled with alcohol problems all his life.

Kid Acne, whose real name is Ed Bradbury, said: “Despite being an incredible, inspirational and creative soul, my dad suffered with a series of mental health issues throughout his life.

“He became alcohol dependent and after decades of self-medicating, sadly passed away in 2015 due to cirrhosis.

“The following year, I decided to quit drinking and become a patron of Project 6 with the view of helping raise money and awareness to support families and individuals experiencing similar struggles.”

Printed By Us has been operating for four years and now has around two dozen staff members, all of whom have at one point been homeless or vulnerable.

Programme manager Terry Murphy said that while the Cathedral Archer Project was good at helping people in crisis, Printed By Us enabled people to live enjoyable, fulfilling lives.

“Last year we were selected as Homeless Link’s national social enterprise of the year and our operations manager James Creed won The Star’s small business personality of the year,” he said.

“We have a lot of success stories.”

As well as the limited edition prints, Printed By Us have also produced t-shirts and sweaters featuring the same design, with all proceeds going to themselves and Project 6.

They are currently on sale at Printed by Us’ website but will also be sold at a special ‘pop-up shop’ at Meadowhall which will provide around 100 hours of work a week for their 24 staff members.

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