Advertisement
Opinion

The Connor Brothers offer a fresh view of a better Britain

The artists take over The Big Issue this week with a focus on emerging and established names across sport, culture and activism. Their version of Britain offers hope, writes Paul McNamee.

Each year we invite stars of the art world to take over an edition of The Big Issue. They bring a wholly different perspective. They encourage us to view the world differently.

Frequently the artists bring friends and associates to tackle a theme. The results have always been fascinating.

This time round, James Golding and Mike Snelle, The Connor Brothers, approach from a different angle.

They look at where Britain is just now. Post-Brexit, post-Covid, in a time of identity politics, uncertain futures for many and what feels like closing borders, they offer a different view of a potentially better nation.

They bring together art they have been creating that focuses on fascinating emerging and established names across sport, culture, campaigning and social change. It’s a glorious collection that you’re not going to get anywhere else but The Big Issue.

The Connor Brothers have been through the mill. They come not to bury Britain but to praise it

The Connor Brothers don’t come at things from an entitled ivory tower, closed off from the hard realities of lives as they are lived. They have been through the mill themselves. There is no aloof sneering, rather a celebration of possibilities. They come not to bury Britain but to praise it.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Article continues below

Timing is everything. As we ramp up towards the 30th anniversary of The Big Issue, we are looking ahead as much as marking achievements of this organisation from the past. There will more on the 30th in the coming weeks.

Clearly, there is still work to be done, for our vendors and increasingly for people in perilous positions as worries grow and furlough protections end. Our Stop Mass Homelessness campaign will become louder and more insistent as the days shorten.

But here, this week, The Connor Brothers offer hope.

It’s an edition of positive possibilities.

We thank them for bringing it.

Paul McNamee is editor of The Big Issue

The exclusive Connor Brothers takeover of The Big Issue is out now.Get the special edition, full of custom artwork and sure to be a collector’s item, from your local vendor or from The Big Issue Shop

Advertisement

Buy a Big Issue Vendor Support Kit

This Christmas, give a Big Issue vendor the tools to keep themselves warm, dry, fed, earning and progressing.

Recommended for you

Read All
Growing up in care makes you 70% more likely to die young. As a Labour MP, I'll work to change that
Josh MacAlister MP in the House of Commons
Josh MacAlister

Growing up in care makes you 70% more likely to die young. As a Labour MP, I'll work to change that

Protest isn't a dirty word – but successive governments have tried to convince us otherwise
how to organise a protest
Jodie Beck

Protest isn't a dirty word – but successive governments have tried to convince us otherwise

The climate crisis is on our doorstep. How can we keep eco-anxiety in check?
flood in climate crisis
Rosie Downes

The climate crisis is on our doorstep. How can we keep eco-anxiety in check?

'I have nothing they can take': Council tax debt collection having devastating impact on vulnerable people
a man with an empty wallet
Sarah Muirhead

'I have nothing they can take': Council tax debt collection having devastating impact on vulnerable people

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue