Duchess Kate Helps Turn “Hold Still” Pandemic Exhibition into Coffee Table Book to Support Charities
She has long been a keen photographer and now Duchess Kate is bringing her passion for the art to the pages of a new book to raise money for charities.
Alongside Britain’s National Portrait Gallery, the Duchess of Cambridge has announced a coffee table publication of last year’s successful “Hold Still” exhibition, which saw 100 portraits taken by people from across the UK highlight the different experiences during the country’s first national lockdown, which was a year ago this week.
Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 will include an introduction written by Kate, who is patron of the National Portrait Gallery and served on the specialist panel that selected the final images used in the digital exhibition from over 31,000 submissions. “When we look back at the COVID-19 pandemic in decades to come, we will think of the challenges we all faced – the loved ones we lost, the extended isolation from our families and friends and the strain placed on our key workers,” she writes in the book, which is released May 7. “But we will also remember the positives: the incredible acts of kindness, the helpers and heroes who emerged from all walks of life, and how together we adapted to a new normal.”
She continues, “Through Hold Still, I wanted to use the power of photography to create a lasting record of what we were all experiencing – to capture individuals’ stories and document significant moments for families and communities as we lived through the pandemic.”
A new portrait of the duchess taken by the Camrbidge’s go-to photographer Matt Porteous is also featured in the book, showing a red sweater-clad Kate in the garden of her Anmer Hall home holding a professional camera. While her own images are not featured in the book, she has regularly shared photographs she has taken of her family for official royal portraits.
Money raised from sales will benefit a number of different charitable programs, with 50% of net proceeds going towards helping the National Portrait Gallery continue to deliver educational and community programs across Britain. The other half will go towards supporting leading mental health charity Mind, including support initiatives being run in local communities across the country.
The director of The National Portrait Gallery, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, says in a statement shared with BAZAAR.com, “The public response to Hold Still, which was spearheaded by our Patron, Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge, has been phenomenal. The photographs submitted have helped to create a unifying and cathartic portrait of life in lockdown.”
Adds Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, “The coronavirus pandemic is a mental health emergency as well as a physical one. The devastating loss of life, the impact of lockdown, and any recession that lies ahead means there has never been a more crucial time to prioritise our mental health. This inspiring collection of portraits illustrates the impact of the pandemic in all its complexity, but also how creativity, art and human connection can help us find meaning in unprecedented challenges.”
As well as showcasing the 100 images from the exhibition and the stories that accompany each other, the book will also look back at highlights from October 2020’s community exhibition which saw a number of the portraits shared on billboards around the U.K.
Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 can be pre-ordered via the National Portrait Gallery.
You Might Also Like
