LONDON.- Up and coming British artist Charlotte Mann has been commissioned by Sophie Howarth, Director of The School of Life and former curator of programming at Tate Modern to design a stunning and contemporary mural of everyday life in the School’s underground classroom.

With a diverse and successful career history encompassing the disciplines of design, illustration, fashion and curation, Charlotte has joined forces with some of today’s brightest cultural icons, including photographer Martin Parr and writer Alain de Botton to support The School of Life; the first large scale creative endeavour of its kind to be launched in London offering intelligent instruction on how to lead a fulfilled life.

Embracing her trademark illustrative style Charlotte has transformed the basement of The School of Life’s headquarters, located in the bohemian district of Bloomsbury, central London, into an inspirational underground classroom. Her mural provides the backdrop for The School’s main teaching space where faculty members regularly host courses around the five central themes of work, play, family, politics and love. Charlotte’s life size drawings are designed to create an inviting space that course participants can inhabit, lose their inhibitions and become comfortable within.

The mural is one of many major artistic contributions forming The School’s creation; a conscious decision taken by The School’s Director, Sophie Howarth. By commissioning Charlotte’s mural Sophie believes that The School will be seen to be actively promoting the benefits of culture in our lives, and helping to bridge the gap between art and everyday living in beautiful and inspirational surroundings.

The inspiration for Charlotte’s mural focuses on the home and elements of everyday living, much like The School’s ethos. She says: "I'm interested in the unplanned and gradual accumulation of objects that you find in most homes. As far as I’m concerned, every single object you find in a home is interesting and can be as beautiful as any other, nothing is ruled out, anything that exists is worth looking at. It seems appropriate that a school, choosing for its curriculum the inevitable elements of just being alive and in society, should have a drawing on the walls of its classroom that looks at the content of a home. I hope the mural will inspire people to look at the normal things of life, ideas and objects, and find these things and their relationship to each other, deeply, ceaselessly interesting and nourishing. I'd be very happy if they simply enjoy being in there"

Charlotte’s mural can be viewed at The School of Life’s headquarters which is in a small but spectacular shop on Marchmont Street in central London. Organised as a chemist for the mind, the shop offers a variety of cultural solutions to everyday ailments. In a manner that is at once playful and serious, it sells books, artworks, courses, holidays and therapeutic services and is open Monday – Friday 12.00 – 19.00pm