When Katy’s friend Oliver Helmsey was stabbed in London in August 2008, she founded an arts campaign to raise awareness of knife crime in Hackney. ArtAgainstKinives is raising money for Oliver’s care as he is now paralysed from the neck down.
In spite of the pain caused by the stabbing, Katy and her friends were determined to find a positive outcome. In April 2009, Katie held an exhibition at the local town hall to support ArtAgainstKnives and to raise awareness. Local and celebrity artists lent her their pieces and she was able to execute a successful exhibition which raised over £60,000. In fact, she was so successful that some of the celebrities who attended the event, like Will Young and Daniel Radcliffe, pledged their continued support for the cause.
Given that she had no previous experience, Katy and her friends have managed to create a successful campaign and Katy has been able to build on her personal skills.
Fiona Dawe, her aunt and a nominator, said:
“Katy, Oliver and Alice have, without any previous experience, created something special and have leaned a huge amount about dealing with a tragic event in such a creative and positive way – and the ripple-effect is having a big impact.”
ArtAgainstKnives has grown from strength to strength since it was first created and has had a big impact on the Art world. The campaign has even been featured on BBC Radio London, London Tonight (on T.V), Vogue magazine and both local and London-wide newspapers.
Katy’s success is unique because she managed to engage the world of Arts and Fashion and got key played to take notice of he campaign and support it. She plans to start ArtAgainstKnives as a full-time charity and hopes that winning a Young Achiever’s Award will help her with this aim.
[...] Katy Dawe will be taking up an exciting opportunity to receive half a day of fundraising advice from the guru Michael Norton. [...]