Nick Cave, Fatboy Slim and Moby Sign Guitars for Brighton Music Therapy Auction

More than 36 guitars, donated by members of the public, have been turned into artworks and then signed by musicians for Brighton Rocks, a fundraising auction supporting music therapy in Sussex hospitals.

The instruments passed through two sets of hands. Artists including Hayden Kayes, Chemical X, TBOY, Cassette Lord, George Fox, Elizabeth Eade and braille artist Mr Dot reworked each donated guitar into a one-off piece. Nick Cave, Fatboy Slim, Moby, Madness, Mel C, Leigh-Anne, Jessie J and Paris Hilton then signed them.

The collection goes on display at Helm Gallery in Brighton from December 5 to 11, with online bidding opening a day earlier and running from December 4 to 11. All funds raised go towards music therapy provision across Sussex hospitals, a form of care that sits inside the NHS but rarely attracts visible fundraising of its own. Helm Gallery described the exhibition as a way of holding art and music together while recognising what music therapy contributes to mental health.

The appeal is partly local: a Brighton gallery, Brighton names, Sussex wards. But the format is a familiar one in music charity work, where a donated object is transformed, signed and sold, and its success depends on whether the artworks are treated as artworks or as merchandise with a paint job. The decision to hang the guitars in a gallery before they are auctioned suggests the organisers understand the distinction.