Alison Lapper is a woman of many talents. Artist, TV presenter, campaigner and speaker, she has overcome many difficulties in her life to become a well-known and respected public figure. Her autobiography My Life in My Hands has been translated into nine languages.
Alison was born without arms and with shortened legs, a condition known as phocomelia. It didn’t stop her getting a first class degree in Fine Art from Brighton University. She was later awarded an MBE for services to art.
In 2005 she rose to national fame when she was the subject of a sculpture on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square.
If you didn’t see her on the plinth, you have probably seen her on TV – she co-presented “No Body’s Perfect” for BBC4 and a programme on William Blake for Sky Arts in 2017.
In 2019, Alison set up The Drug of Art charity, which introduces art to young people to provide an alternative form of mental health support and well-being. It was established in memory of her beautiful son Parys who sadly died that year.
Today we can work, access social media and get our hands on drugs and alcohol all day, every day. Alison believes this is putting huge strain on our mental health, but the support network is severely under-funded.
This means that, out of standard office hours, there is too often no help available to those who desperately and urgently need it. Calling an ambulance is a last resort, but this service too is overstretched.
Alison will explain how people are losing their lives because we can’t give them the specialist mental health support they need when they need it, before they hit crisis point.
