Counterpoints Arts has partnered with Fine Acts and One World or None (OWoN) to commission ten new artworks that reimagine democracy for the 21st century.
Produced during an intensive 48 hours creative bootcamp, called SPRINTS, the completed illustrations will be available for movements, activists and individuals to use for non-commercial purposes under an open license, and become part of TheGreats.co – the largest global platform for free social-impact visuals.
The commissioned digital artworks on the theme ‘Reimagining Democracy’ will also be presented at a pop-up exhibition at Kensington Central Library in London from 15-30 October.
Image: Build Trust by Lily Kong, FineActs SPRINTS London, 2026
Reimagining Democracy
At a time of profound uncertainty and transformation around the world when democracy is being tested, challenged, and in many cases, eroded, this SPRINTS series is not about illustrating democracy as it is – but about imagining what it could become. The artists, who are all UK-based but hail from a range of countries from Palestine to Ukraine, will take inspiration from powerful democratic practices that use the talents, judgment, and capabilities of ordinary people – such as citizens assemblies, participatory budgeting, digital decision-making platforms, and indigenous governance models – to generate powerful visual narratives that actively imagine and propose new models of deliberative participatory democracy.
The London SPRINTS is part of a global initiative spanning more than 10 countries around the globe. Each piece contributes to a growing global commons of creative resources that strengthens the capacity of organisations and movements, and expands the role of artists as active participants in social change.
Reimagining Democracy Exhibition
Dates: 15 – 30 October 2026
Opening Hours: Open Monday, Tuesday: 9.30am to 8pm, Wednesday 10am – 5pm, Thursday 9.30am – 5pm, Friday and Saturday 9:30am – 5pm. Closed Sunday.
Venue: Kensington Central Library, 12 Phillimore Walk, London W8 7RX
Free Admission
About the Artists
Alaa Shasheet
Alaa Shasheet is a contemporary artist from Syria, based in London. With a degree in Printmaking and a Master’s degree in contemporary art, his practice mainly focuses on mixed media, installation, and film photography, exploring ideas of identity, traces, displacement, hope, and everyday’s life, with a focus on upcycling and repurposing materials. Alaa uses materials, marks, and found elements to reflect on personal and shared experiences. He has taken part in various group and solo exhibitions and artistic projects in the UK and internationally. @shasheet_alaa_art
Ganna Beilcheva
Ganna Beilcheva is a graphic designer originally from Ukraine, now living in the UK. She holds a master’s degree and a PhD in information technology and has a background working with advertising agencies, publishing houses, and IT companies. Alongside Ganna’s design work she also teaches. @ganna_bielcheva
Lily Kong
Lily Kong is an artist and illustrator from Hong Kong, now living in London. Her work is a heartfelt exploration of nostalgia, joy, and the emotions that connect us. She hopes to spark joy and bring people back to those familiar, comforting moments that make us smile and feel at peace. She has previously collaborated with clients including Hermès, Montblanc, Tate and FineActs on various projects. @Lilykongyuet / www.lilykong.co.uk
Majid Adin
Majid Adin is an Iranian-British multidisciplinary artist, animator, illustrator and visual storyteller working across animation, film, theatre and participatory art. His work explores migration, identity, memory, belonging and social change, combining hand-drawn and digital techniques with accessible visual storytelling. He is known internationally for his animated interpretation of Elton John’s Rocket Man and has created socially engaged work with organisations including the UN, UCL, Good Chance Theatre and PositiveNegatives. His practice often connects personal experience with wider social themes and uses illustration and animation as tools for communication, participation and storytelling. @majid_adinn / https://majiks.artstation.com
Maliha Abidi
Maliha Abidi is a Pakistani-American multidisciplinary artist, author, and speaker based in London. Working across painting, animation, publishing, and immersive installations, her practice explores and challenges dominant narratives surrounding identity, collective memory, and gender. Drawing on experiences of displacement, her research examines how migration shapes identity and cultural memory through a feminist lens. She is the founder of Women Rise and BackPackX. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at Tate Modern, Outernet London, Frameless, and The Other Art Fair. @maliha_z_art / https://www.malihaabidi.com
Nadine Kadaan
Nadine Kaadan is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator from Syria now living in London. She is published in several countries and languages and her mission is to champion empowered and inclusive representation in children’s books so that every child can see themselves in a story. Nadine’s work with young refugees in mitigating post-conflict trauma has captured the attention of CNN and the BBC, both of which have broadcast special features on her books ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘The Jasmine Sneeze’. @nadine_kadaan
Palak Garg
Palak Garg is a visual communicator based in London. Originally from India, she uses visuals to make connections and tell stories through colourful, playful compositions featuring a diverse mix of people and places, both observed and imagined. Her work explores themes of community, culture, belonging and diversity. With a background in drawing and collage, she builds images through layers, shapes and textures, combining analogue and digital tools. She separates colours and creates textures by hand, breaking each image down to its essential elements and finding the best visual approach for every project. @palak_illustrator / https://www.palak-garg.com/
Rand Hamdallah
Rand Hamdallah is a Palestinian artist and designer from Tulkarm, based in London. Her practice moves between graphic design, installation, moving image and print, drawing on a background in architecture and urban research. She is interested in oral language as design material, and in how speech carries memory, place and cultural knowledge. Her work has developed through residencies with the A. M. Qattan Foundation, Ramallah; Mishkal, Ramallah; and Bosla Arts, London. She holds a degree in Architectural Engineering and a Master’s in Urban Climate and Sustainability. @rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrand
Heidi Pickett
Heidi Pickett is a soon to be qualified Clinical Psychologist and Psychology Illustrator. Her work focuses on community psychology, inclusion, trauma and identity. As a psychology illustrator she works to make psychology and mental health concepts accessible for diverse audiences. Her position is that social justice is a practice, not a theory and is passionate about promoting this through training, workshops and creative community projects. @heidipsychology / https://msha.ke/heidipsychology/
Shang Salah
Shang Salah is a London-based Kurdish-Iraqi visual artist, filmmaker, curator and researcher working across photography, video, and collage. Her practice brings research rigour and multidisciplinary techniques together to explore temporality, physicality, and memory. Her work has been exhibited across London, Berlin, Athens, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. She is a co-founder and co-creative director of ROOD, a creative collective documenting today’s youth culture. With ROOD, she curates and produces exhibitions and events, combining nights out and visual arts. @shangsalah
About the Partnership
This project is a partnership between Counterpoints Arts Fine Acts and One World or None (OWoN).
About Fine Acts
Fine Acts is a global creative studio for social impact that operates across issues and borders. Fine Acts believes in the power of art and play. In their work, they think about ways to make people care and act, and they create novel avenues to empower activism.
SPRINTS is a creative bootcamp developed by Fine Acts, where visual artists – including illustrators, graphic designers, and typographers develop and produce digital artworks focused on a specific issue. Visuals created are published under an open licence, ensuring they can be freely accessed, adapted, translated, and redistributed by movements and communities worldwide. SPRINTS builds a new visual language for democracy, as well as a shared infrastructure for activism and advocacy. https://fineacts.co/
About OWoN
One World Or None (OWoN) is a global cultural campaign for a movement to renew democracy. OWoN exists to help radically improve political decision-making on critical global challenges by amplifying the agency of ordinary people. It is a cultural campaign to create mass awareness of and advocacy for sortition, citizens’ assemblies and new governance structures globally and to inspire a movement for this new democracy of citizen participation. https://oneworldornone.world
