Our latest global project for Unilever's Magnum ice cream is a collaboration with artists to create original artworks that transform deserted city streets into bustling hubs of ‘Pleasure Imagined’ 

The exhibition is also designed to raise money for women cocoa farmers.

Launching on Magnum’s official Instagram channel (@Magnum), global artists have used the now famous images of eerily quiet city streets as their canvas to imagine a world post-lockdown. The artworks look forward to a time where social distancing restrictions are lifted, and we can meet with our loved ones to indulge in small moments of pleasure, once more. From hot air balloons flying through the air in Madrid, to a Magnum inspired marriage proposal on the streets of São Paulo, the artists have used a range of digital techniques to depict a new dawn.

Magnum will release a new artwork via Instagram, each day for the duration of the exhibition, which can also be downloaded from Magnum’s website. 

As well as highlighting a collective of emerging artists, Pleasure Imagined wants to generate additional donations for Magnum’s community of cocoa farmers in West Africa’s Ivory Coast who, like many other communities around the world, have been impacted by the global pandemic. As part of the exhibition, Magnum is committing an unconditional donation of €250,000 to provide direct financial support to the women cocoa farmers within its extended network.

This kicks off a two-year programme with NGO partner 100WEEKS to help women cocoa farmers diversify their income and help lift them and their families out of poverty. The programme will provide them with direct, weekly payments, as well as training and coaching to develop their skills so that they can pursue what brings them pleasure.

Magnum’s lead artist, Aurélia Durand, said: “As an artist I always strive to create art that is true to me and what I believe. With the devastation that the current crisis has brought, I am grateful that I can share what pleasure means to me through my most precious and authentic means.

“Creating this piece was such an important and meaningful process, not only am I sharing my hopes for a harmonious and bright future, but the funds generated through this initiative will go towards making this a reality for cocoa farming communities in Ivory Coast impacted during these difficult times.”

This is the third year of Magnum’s art collaboration, an ongoing commitment to supporting artists and creators, with previous activations that saw California based artist Brendan Monroe bring surrealism to the streets in 2019, and French artist Thomas Danthony adorn iconic European cities with artwork derivative of life’s ‘pure pleasure’ in 2018.

For more information or to donate, visit magnumicecream.com/pleasureimagined

The artists featured are: Aurélia Durand, Sara Paglia, Juan Moreno, Diego Limberti, Rodrigo Martin, Chacho Puebla, Giulia Bianchi, Agustín Ostiglia, Stuart Jarvis, Nico Ordozgoiti, Nicolás Germani