Exhibition: 29 April–7 May 2024 • London

LEADING ARTISTS DONATE WORKS TO SUPPORT CHARITY, OFFERING ART AS THERAPY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Art for AT THE BUS will include over 30 works to be exhibited at Sotheby's New Bond Street gallery from 29 April to 7 May 2024. The works will be sold via online auction, powered by Artsy, and open for bidding from 29 April till 5pm on 10 May 2024. Leading artists including Grayson Perry, Jenny Saville, Veronica Ryan and Maggi Hambling are amongst those who have donated works for an exhibition at Sotheby’s in London to support the charity AT THE BUS, which offers school-based art as therapy on a double decker bus to support the well-being of young people. Proceeds of the sale will go to AT The Bus.

One in six children and young people in the UK have poor mental health and many struggle to attend or engage at school (NHS Digital 2022). AT The Bus partners with schools so that students can easily access the service directly on their school site, either on the bus or in bespoke studios within the school grounds.

Founded in 2018, AT The Bus is a UK charity that supports the education, health and well-being of children and young people by providing art as therapy on a double-decker bus and at school-based studios in London and Oxford.

Concerns about children’s well-being and mental health have grown over the past few years, and the data suggests this concern is more than justified: in 2023 20% of 8-16 year olds had a probable mental health disorder and 40% reported a deterioration in their wellbeing since 2017 (NHS Digital 2023). The services that could help them are overwhelmed.

AT The Bus offers a unique and effective solution, delivering mental health support directly to young people in school where they are best placed to access it. It uses the Beattie Method, a relationship-based group intervention that was developed by AT The Bus Founder and Joint CEO, Juli Beattie OBE, following decades-long work with children and young people. Through the Beattie Method children and young people with complex needs are supported using art as therapy, helping them to re-engage with their education by building self-esteem, confidence, resilience and independence. AT The Bus has expanded considerably since September 2021, when UK schools fully reopened following lockdowns due to the Covid19 pandemic. The charity currently works with nine schools, delivering 46 sessions and working with over 230 children and young people each week. AT The Bus students work in small groups led by experienced facilitators trained in The Beattie Method. The double decker bus and static studio spaces offer calm, safe spaces on school sites for students to access easily.

In late 2022, AT The Bus began work with Oxford University on a formal evaluation of the impact made by the charity and The Beattie Method. Now underway, this evaluation is led by Dr Mina Fazel, Professor of Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Oxford (and a Patron of AT The Bus). According to Dr Fazel, “Provision on the school site is essential for the most vulnerable and at-risk young people. We have found that when we help these children with their mental health problems, they are then better able to engage with their peers at school and access the academic curriculum.”