who we are

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Chris Sullivan — Founder & Creative Director

Artists for Gaza was born fast. Chris had the idea, the vision, and the contacts and the first event came together in just three weeks. That urgency has never left us.

Chris Sullivan, is a painter, writer, DJ, club promoter, journalist, lecturer, and filmmaker. He founded Soho's legendary Wag Club in 1982, and is an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins, specialising in subculture. 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.

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Sullivan has always blended culture and activism, uniting the creative talents of London's diasporas for social change. He founded Artists for Gaza in 2024, moved by the suffering of children in Gaza. 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:

"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."

Maria Larrain — Co-Founder & Operations Director

When Chris asked Maria to come on board, she brought everything with her. As the person who builds and runs the digital infrastructure, website, merchandise, and operations behind Artists for Gaza, she is the engine that turns Chris' vision into reality and together they keep it running between events.

Maria has been an activist since her teens. As a political refugee from Chile, displacement politicised her from an early age. She was a women’s officer in local ward politics, a parent representative for children with complex needs, a parent governor at a major London secondary school, and a volunteer providing healthcare directly to children with special educational needs. She has campaigned for disability rights and refugee rights. Artists for Gaza is not a departure from that work; it is a continuation of it on a bigger stage.

Maria, a former TV producer, is a healthcare professional specialising in paediatrics and a PhD candidate in medical anthropology at UCL. She was eight years old when she drew the Estadio Nacional for a Red Cross competition — the stadium where political prisoners were held, and Victor Jara was murdered for his art. That early understanding of what happens when states turn on their own people has never left her. The anguish of children in Gaza is not abstract to Maria; it echoes histories she has lived and studied.

Artists for Gaza: Instagram  |  Facebook

Artists for Gaza would not exist without the people who have shown up, rolled up their sleeves, and given their time and talent. We are deeply grateful to: The Scala Band — Paul Weller, Madness' Suggs, Dexys' Kevin Rowland, Sex Pistols' Glen Matlock, Roxy Music's Andy Mackay and Clive Langer, who came together as a one-night-only supergroup on May 17th and brought the house down. 

Bobby Gillespie and Lisa Moorish — for their activist energy, commitment, and willingness to put themselves on the right side of history, every time. 

Mo Khan — for supplying our T-shirts. Steve Walsh — for graphics that give our merch its edge. 

Neville Brody — for the iconic Artists for Gaza logo. 

Dave Wilson for supplying the banners. 

Portobello Radio and Brixton Radio — for amplifying our voice in the community. 

And to every artist, DJ, volunteer, and supporter who has walked through the door — thank you. 

Four events. Over £142,000 raised. And we've only just begun.