A new global charity and awards scheme, Art For Social Change (AFSC), has launched to showcase the power of visual creativity to tackle pressing social issues.
Its first focus will be the epidemic of loneliness, with a ‘proof of concept’ campaign launching across London on 18 January 2027, Blue Monday.
Harnessing the power of creativity
The free-to-enter AFSC awards are inviting submissions from agencies, universities, colleges and schools, and are supported by the creative, advertising, design, behavioural sciences and education sectors.
Entries will be judged on their ability to drive behaviour change and attitudes towards loneliness, and will be ranked using a cutting-edge neuro and behavioural science methodology to determine their behavioural change energy score.
The awards have been designed as a repeatable process that can address any human challenge – from loneliness to inclusivity.
Over time AFSC will build the first global, evidence-based movement for behaviour-changing art.
The closing date for entries in this first iteration of the scheme is 31 July, with the shortlisted 50 and top ten announced on 1 October.
The top ten will form the centrepiece of a major London behavioural change campaign to be displayed on digital Out of Home sites, with media space already donated by Bauer Media Outdoor.
The charity and awards scheme is the brainchild of behavioural change expert Crawford Hollingworth.
It is supported by leading industry bodies including The IPA, The Marketing Society, DMA, and companies including Bauer Media Outdoor, Omnicom, thenetworkone.
Educational organisations including ual, Bournemouth University, Nottingham Trent, ARK academy and The Harris Federation are also supporting.
Leading figures in the sector including Sir Mark Thompson, Sir John Hegarty, Rory Sutherland, Pip Jamieson, Paul Bainsfair, Stephen Maher, Mark Earls, Dr Juli Beattie OBE, Sophie Devonshire, and Anna Hopwood will judge the awards.
Hollingworth said: “We all know art and advertising can change behaviour.
“Advertising has nudged us to reshape our attitudes to social issues over the years. We’ve shifted norms, triggered emotion, encouraged action, moved culture at scale.
“But right now there is a void of large scale strategic and scientifically-led creative campaigns tackling negative social issues so Art For Social Change is stepping forward to fill that void.
“The enthusiasm that has greeted our attempt to remind everyone of the power of our creative industry to tackle social issues and ultimately to change lives is really heartening.”
Maher, Vice Chair MSQ and Advisor to the charity said: “London is a leading global creative capital, so it makes sense for us to launch our charity here.
“And loneliness is our first focus because it’s an epidemic that crosses generations, with 1 in 3 adults feeing lonely regularly (WHO/BMJ) and 1 in 2 young people in the UK reporting loneliness (BMJ).
“Our behavioural change mission is simple: to make London friendlier. More caring. More empathic. Less lonely.”
Richard Bon, UK Managing Director and Europe Commercial Lead, Bauer Media Outdoor, said: “Out of Home has a unique ability to connect with people in their everyday environments, making it a powerful platform for driving awareness and inspiring meaningful behavioural change.
“By supporting the Art for Social Change initiative, we hope to play a part in helping to tackle loneliness in this new, creative way.”
The launch date for the first AFSC campaign is the aptly chosen Blue Monday, 18 January 2027, arguably the most depressing day of the year. The AFSC team will track and measure the behavioural impact of the work pre and post exposure.