Ed Sheeran’s ‘Cosmic Carpark Paintings’ on sale to raise money for his foundation
Ed Sheeran has launched a new series of original works titled ‘Cosmic Carpark Paintings’, raising funds for his Ed Sheeran Foundation.
The canvas and unique prints will be available exclusively on HENI from tomorrow (Thursday July 10), offering the public a first opportunity to collect original artworks and edition prints by the singer-songwriter.
It’ll benefit the Ed Sheeran Foundation – a UK-wide initiative aimed at providing inclusive, high-quality music education for every child.
Sheeran’s painting journey began in 2019 after his record-breaking ‘Divide’ tour ended. Using his spare time to create original artworks, in 2020, he used one of his early creations as the official artwork for his single ‘Afterglow’.
Inspired by celestial patterns, and in keeping with his well-documented, expressionist splash painting style, Sheeran painted his debut collection in a disused car park in London last year in between the international leg of his ‘Mathematics Tour’.
He initially created the works for his family and friends, using the process as a creative outlet in between releasing new music.
After catching up with his close friend Damien Hirst, however, the artist encouraged the musician to put on his own exhibition. Sheeran decided to use this as an opportunity to raise money for his foundation. Both Sheeran and Hirst agreed that the project would be a fun and interesting way of showing how art itself can give back to the arts.
“I started painting at the end of my Divide Tour in 2019 and it’s something that I’ve used as a creative outlet ever since. When I was growing up, both of my parents worked in art, so I’ve naturally always been interested in it, and I always enjoyed studying art at school,” Sheeran explained.
“I was back and forth on tour last year, and I used a lot of my downtime in the UK to paint. I’d run to a disused carpark in Soho each morning, paint, then run home and I’d do that daily until I headed back out on tour again.”
He continued: “I told my good friends Damien Hirst and Joe Hage about the paintings, and they encouraged me to put on my own thing, so I decided I’d use it as a way of raising funds for my Ed Sheeran Foundation, which supports music education in the UK and helps fund grassroot music projects, schools and equipment, so all kids have access to music.
“I want to thank Damien and Joe for everything they’ve done for me on this exhibition and I’m delighted to be putting it on. x.”
The paintings and related prints will be exhibited at the HENI Gallery in London for the duration of the drop, between July 11 and August 1 2025. Admission to the ‘Cosmic Carpark Paintings’ exhibition is free. Opening hours are 10am– 6pm, Monday to Sunday.
Sheeran launched the Ed Sheeran Foundation at the start of this year. He kicked off the initiative by visiting schools in Cardiff, Coventry, Edinburgh and Belfast. The foundation has already supported 18 grassroots music education organisations and state school music departments, impacting over 12,000 children and young people.
In March, Sheeran wrote an open letter to the UK government calling for immediate and long-term funding for music education. It was backed by the likes of Harry Styles, Charli XCX, Ezra Collective and Myles Smith.
Meanwhile, Sheeran has released three singles from his forthcoming album ‘Play’ (out September 12). These are ‘Sapphire’, ‘Azizam’ and ‘Old Phone’. He has also shared the track ‘Drive’, featuring Dave Grohl on drums and John Mayer on guitar, from the F1 soundtrack.
In other news, Sheeran recently made a surprise appearance at Olivia Rodrigo’s BST Hyde Park concert in London.
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Tom Skinner
NME
