In the face of Covid-19 essential retail calmed the nerves of the nation, providing vital supplies to the British people.
Even stores forced to close temporarily have been a visual reassurance that some kind of normality would return eventually.
And, despite the best efforts of all, to date more than 43,000 people have died of Covid-19. They should not be forgotten.
So, we are asking for your help to create a tribute celebrating the heroic efforts of retailers during the worst pandemic in recent history, and to honour the dead.
But we are NOT asking for money. Only your memories…
We have sponsored an initiative called Memoriam. The idea is to gather images that capture what it meant to live through the first ever Covid pandemic. Pictures will then be used to form a digital montage to be played at this year’s Fraud Awards, together with an exhibition of selected images and a piece of art specifically commissioned to encapsulate the spirit of the time entitled “Memoriam.”
Pictures do not have to be specific to Retail. They should be emblematic of the pandemic. They might be pictures of queues outside stores, or an empty high street, images of signage or workers wearing masks and observing new social distancing rules. It can be empty shelves where toilet roll once was, video conferencing wearing a jacket and pyjama bottoms or your street clapping for the NHS.
In other words anything that captures a moment of what it was like to live through the last few months, from as many aspects as possible.
Retail Knowledge are co-ordinating the project on behalf of Amberstone and WIS International, who are jointly sponsoring Memoriam with us. Please email your pictures to Mark Miller, Creative Director for Retail Knowledge, at markmiller@retail-knowledge.com
The top 25 entries will receive a numbered, limited edition print of the original Memoriam picture, signed by the artist and sponsors. In addition some entries will also be selected for exhibition at the Fraud Awards 2020. All entries sent by you or your colleagues will be contributing to this important project.
