Chris Sullivan — Founder

---

Chris Sullivan is a painter, writer, DJ, club promoter, journalist, lecturer, and filmmaker — one of the most restless and genuinely multidisciplinary figures in British cultural life. He founded Soho's legendary Wag Club in 1982, a club that defined London's creative scene for a decade and brought together music, fashion, and subcultural politics in ways that still resonate. He is an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins, specialising in subculture — a subject, as he puts it, he is rumoured to know something about.

A master at bringing people together, Sullivan has always blended creativity with activism — uniting the creative talents of London's diasporas for social change, and using his platform to raise awareness for critical causes. His commitment to merging arts and humanitarian effort runs through everything he does, from the Wag Club to the lecture theatre to the stage at Scala.

As a journalist, he has worked at The Face, Boy's Own, and Loaded, served as GQ's style editor, and freelanced for The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, Esquire, and L'Uomo Vogue. He has written three books — including the international bestseller Punk (with Stephen Colegrave), and We Can Be Heroes (with Graham Smith) — and directed Gangs of Britain, a nine-part documentary series for Sky. He is also a founder and trustee of Portobello Radio, championing community voices and local creativity.

He founded Artists for Gaza in 2024, moved — as so many were — by the suffering of children in Gaza. In four events, he has brought together over 40 artists, raising nearly £50,000, first for UNICEF and now for Health Workers for Palestine. His son Finbar shared that impulse completely.

Since Finbar's death, Chris has spoken with characteristic directness about knife crime, racism, and the failures of government — refusing to allow his son's name to be weaponised by those seeking to fuel division:

"The hate should not be directed at minorities. It's the government and the Met Police — they're the ones to blame, not immigrants, not black kids. Fin, above all, was proud to be a Londoner, proud of this multiracial, wonderful place we are."

"I hope Finbar is going to be a clarion call for all of us who can see the wood from the trees. That's what I'm going to make it my job to do now."

The May 17th event at Scala is that job, begun. It is a fundraiser, a memorial, and a refusal to look away — in Gaza, and here at home.

Artists for Gaza: Instagram  |  Facebook
Chris Sullivan: Instagram  |  thesullivan.net