The Art of the Athlete

The Art of the Athlete is a free exhibition that will take place in central London in Zari Gallery.

This exhibition will promote art by current and former athletes and raise money for the two organisations to support athletes and coaches.
In 2021 team of the Central London Zari Gallery had an idea to promote the Artistic talents of sportsmen and women. Zari Gallery is delighted to announce the first fundraising collaboration with the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund and the Lloyd Cowan Bursary to showcase the artistic talents of athletes.


The exhibition will feature artists from around the globe, including Roald Bradstock, aka The “Olympic Picasso”, and Tokyo 800m silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson, who are both contributing. Keely was supported by the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund (RPMF) from the age of 15 and is a keen painter in her spare time.


Olympic 400m Champion Christine Ohuruogu set up the Lloyd Cowan Bursary (LCB) following the death of her legendary coach from Covid-19 in 2021. She said: “It is fantastic to be launching this exhibition with RPMF. Lloyd and Ron were giants of our sport. This is a unique opportunity for athletes and former athletes to showcase their hidden talents and sell their artwork whilst helping us to support the next generation of talent.”


Featured image reproduced with the permission of Roald Bradstock.


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The Lloyd Cowan Bursary was set up in memory of Lloyd Cowan MBE, who believed that no one with sporting potential should be held back by lack of support and opportunities. The Bursary awards grants of up to £500 once a year, both to qualified coaches and to unfunded athletes, aged 16-23, for whom cost is a barrier to accessing developmental opportunities in athletics. Cowan was an international athlete before hanging up his spikes and becoming one of the UK’s most successful coaches. He guided many leading British sprinters, including World, Olympic and Commonwealth 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu and European 110m hurdles champion Andy Turner. Tragically Lloyd died in January 2021, aged 58, after contracting COVID-19. For more information about LCB contact Frank Attoh.


The Ron Pickering Memorial Fund Ron Pickering OBE was one of British sport’s great visionaries. He was a former Physical Education teacher and national athletics coach, training Lynn Davies to Tokyo Olympic gold. Ron is best remembered as the voice of athletics on BBC commentaries and iconic programmes such as Superstars. He was awarded the OBE by the Queen in 1986 for services to sport. When he died unexpectedly in 1991, his wife Jean, herself an Olympic medallist from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and children Kim and Shaun set up the Ron Pickering Memorial Fund to help young British athletes fulfil their potential. Since then, supported by the Trustees and a network of volunteers, the fund has raised and awarded over £2.0 million in small but significant grants to several thousand talented young British athletes. For more information about RPMF contact Shaun Pickering