ABOUT THE PROJECT
Heart Heroes is a painted portrait project depicting people living with implanted cardiac devices. The research and development stage is complete, with 15 models successfully recruited from the UK, USA, Italy, France and Poland. The paintings celebrate life-giving technology. Studies from the series have been shared at University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (UK) and Positive Exposure Gallery (NY, USA).
ABOUT CHARLIE KIRKHAM
Charlie Kirkham SGFA is a British visual artist. She studied portraiture at The Heatherley School of Fine Art, London and was mentored through the Turps Banana Correspondence Course. Her work has been shown internationally at the University of Milan (Italy), the University of Southern California (USA), Aberystwyth Art School, and in galleries from London to New York. A recipient of the Developing Your Creative Practice grant from Arts Council England (2026), Charlie placed ninth in the international Passion for Freedom Awards (Visual Arts, 2024), was longlisted for the BEEP Painting Biennale (2024), and received funding from STEAMhouse Birmingham (2022, 2023, 2024). Her upcoming book chapter is due via Batsford Press in 2027. A quoted contributor to Forbes (2026), her work has also featured in AwareNow Magazine. Passionate about cardiac health, Charlie is an Artist Advocate for HeartCharged (USA) and continues to develop Heart Heroes in collaboration with cardiac patients, clinicians and device manufacturers.
HOW YOU CAN HELP?
Venues: Cafes, offices, hospitals and galleries are all great settings for sharing this work. If your space would suit the project, get in touch.
Clinicians and hospital teams: Heart Heroes can support patient engagement and awareness work. If you'd like to explore this for your team or department, get in touch.
Industry partners: Stage 2 is in development and I'm looking for a device manufacturer to collaborate with. If that's you, I'd love to talk.
