War Child invites sixty one artists to create Paul McCartney-inspired artworks for Sound & Vision

War Child has announced the lineup of artists participating in the third edition of Sound & Vision, a charitable initiative combining music and visual art to raise funds for children affected by conflict worldwide. This year’s project draws inspiration from a lyric selected by Paul McCartney himself from his 1973 hit "Band on the Run," chosen as the creative catalyst for a series of original artworks.

The specific lyric, "Well, the rain exploded with a mighty crash as we fell into the sun," serves as a thematic springboard for the diverse group of contributing artists. These creators include painter Genieve Figgis, multidisciplinary artist Alvaro Barrington, British-Ghanaian painter Joshua Donkor, Moscow-born painter and sculptor Sanya Kantarovsky, and illustrator George Underwood, among others. Each artist offers a distinctive interpretation of McCartney’s evocative words, resulting in a collection that is both visually compelling and emotionally resonant.

The completed pieces will be exhibited at the Iconic Images Gallery in early November 2026, with the show scheduled from the 6th to the 8th. Following the physical exhibition, the artworks will be auctioned online, with proceeds directed to War Child. The charity focuses on delivering specialized mental health services, education, protection, and emergency assistance to children whose lives have been disrupted or destroyed by war.

Sound & Vision builds on a successful tradition of pairing music legends’ lyrics with contemporary visual art to support humanitarian causes. The inaugural event drew inspiration from David Bowie, while last year’s edition featured a lyric chosen by Kate Bush, collectively raising over £140,000 for War Child. This 2026 edition marks the first time Paul McCartney has contributed a lyric, underscoring his long-standing relationship with the charity dating back to the 1990s.

War Child’s Fundraising Engagement Director, Charlotte Nimmo, highlighted the significance of this collaboration, emphasizing the powerful intersection of music and art as a vehicle for social impact. She drew attention to the urgent and escalating need for support, citing recent statistics such as the devastating loss of over 60,000 children in Gaza by late 2025 and the displacement of more than 5 million children in Sudan due to ongoing conflicts.

These figures underscore a grim reality: the proportion of children worldwide affected by war has more than doubled since McCartney began his support for War Child, now impacting one in five children globally. The Sound & Vision project seeks to harness the cultural resonance of music and the creative expression of artists to mobilize resources and raise awareness for this critical cause.

The involvement of prominent contemporary artists brings fresh perspectives to McCartney’s lyric, enabling audiences to engage with the music on a visual and emotional level. The exhibition at Iconic Images Gallery will offer visitors a unique chance to experience this dialogue between song and art, while the subsequent auction provides an opportunity to directly contribute to War Child’s vital programs.

While full details on the auction and participating artists’ complete roster remain limited at this stage, the initiative reaffirms the enduring power of creative collaboration in addressing humanitarian crises. By supporting Sound & Vision 2026, art collectors and music enthusiasts alike can acquire meaningful works while aiding children whose lives have been irrevocably altered by war.

As this project unfolds, it reflects a broader trend of leveraging cultural capital to fuel philanthropic efforts, marrying artistic innovation with social responsibility. The fusion of Paul McCartney’s iconic songwriting with contemporary visual art exemplifies how artistic legacies can be mobilized for positive global change.