'Get Britain Breastfeeding:'

on the road to engage the parents of tomorrow

Posters designed by art & design undergraduates from London and all over the world... young people 'rebranding' breastfeeding via arresting and inspiring imagery...an interactive workbook to draw in young minds...

Read more about who was involved and where the exhibition goes from here...and get involved to bring it to your community...

Get Britain Breastfeeding is an interactive exhibition of work by design students to 'rebrand' breastfeeding for the parents of tomorrow. The exhibition was born in London’s East End in early May. It was thanks to the vision of Dr Wynn-Jones who first proposed the idea to Best Beginnings, NHS London who backed it financially, Healthy Schools Tower Hamlets, Central Saint Martin’s and D&AD that we were able to make that first Brick Lane exhibition a reality. Special thanks to Trish Morris-Thompson, Chief Nurse NHS London and Francesca Entwistle, Regional Infant Feeding Co-ordinator NHS London.

We are thrilled to now be able to take Get Britain Breastfeeding on tour, and would like the exhibition to engage as many children and young adults as possible. If you think your Strategic Health Authority or PCT will fund the exhibition to come to your area, please contact Alison Baum and we can take things forward together. With funding in place, we’d also be delighted to take the exhibition overseas.

Pictures from the launch:

Background to exhibition

‘Get Britain Breastfeeding’ is a prestigious art exhibition, produced by the charity Best Beginnings in partnership with NHS London, D&AD and Dr William Wynn-Jones. It showcases the finished artwork of two exciting competitions with iconic designs to inspire, celebrate and change perceptions surrounding breastfeeding thus engaging parents of tomorrow.

In October 2007, Best Beginnings launched a poster competition for students at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design. The overall winners have been offered a two week work placement at leading advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO. The judging panel was unanimous in choosing Kayleigh Brooks and Sophie Barker as the winners of the competition. Their brilliant and challenging poster campaign will be distributed free in hospitals, community centres and GP practices throughout England, and is already being used to promote the 'from bump to breastfeeding' DVD made by Best Beginnings and sponsored by the Department of Health, NHS Health Scotland, the Welsh Assembly Government, the Northern Ireland Health Promotion Agency and the Tedworth Charitable Trust. The breastfeeding DVD will be distributed free to every pregnant woman in the UK from Autumn 2008.

Best Beginnings launched a second art competition in partnership with D&AD, the educational charity whose mission is to promote and encourage creative excellence. Fledgling creatives often cite winning a coveted ‘Yellow Pencil’ as the tipping point in launching their successful careers. D&AD worked with Best Beginnings to write a brief for students taking part in their internationally respected competition. Over 400 students from all over the world have produced postcard sized designs promoting breastfeeding. The winners, Wayne Blenkin & Phil Brewer, received their award at the D&AD Student Awards ceremony in June. The ‘Get Britain Breastfeeding’ exhibition is a unique opportunity to see a selection of the entries from colleges around the world.

 This exhibition was sponsored by NHS London with support from Tower Hamlets Healthy Schools and Primary Care Trust. In preparation for National Breastfeeding Awareness week (11th-17th May 2008), children approaching adolescence and young adulthood had the opportunity to enjoy and learn from the exhibition by completing this interactive workbook. The workbook takes you on a journey of discovery, using the many different and brilliant posters designed by the Central Saint Martin’s students to guide the way. Midwives, health visitors, breastfeeding counsellors and peer support workers are available to raise awareness and point people to local breastfeeding support services. There are also exclusive preview extracts from the new DVD guide to breastfeeding. The exhibition has since been hosted by the Royal College of Midwives at their conference in London, at the International Confederation of Midwives 28th Triennial Congress, Glasgow 1-5 June 2008, and the University of Hertfordshire's Health Showcase, 21-24 October 2008.