Chris was commissioned by THE NATIONAL LOTTERY to photograph 13 'unheralded champions of the arts sector', who have all undertaken wonderful creative projects throughout the pandemic to keep the spirit of their communities alive...

These awesome projects are funded by the massive £30million raised each week for good causes by National Lottery players.

Featured here are just a handful of the inspiring creators and founders from projects such as OPEN BOOK in Scotland where Liz Treacher hosts creative writing sessions to combat loneliness; Vic Brown in Tamworth whose creative arts project NEW URBAN ERA has launched a new online platform for beatboxers, street artists, breakdancers and schools to collaborate during the pandemic; and Maria Connolly, founder of 1 ELEVEN THEATRE in Belfast who performs socially distanced theatre (as Judy Garland, Bette Midler and Marilyn Monroe) to elderly people with dementia. You can read more inspiring stories here.

The portraits are currently being exhibited at eight galleries around the UK including IKON, the MAC Belfast, the PHOTOGRAPHERS' GALLERY, BFI Southbank and the NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, London here.