Dean's devastating stroke

Our friend Dean Kemp is a 47-year-old sculptor who has a studio in the same place we do (East Street Arts). I've known Dean for 12 years and he is one of the most talented artists I know. He is entirely self-taught, having trained as a welder before becoming a sculptor. In his words, he is one of the very few working-class artists.

Dean is a charming, sometimes gobby Leeds lad who would do anything for his friends. (He built me a treadmill desk, for nowt.) He is a hard worker, working at least two jobs to be able to support his art as well as his daughter. He's well-known as the bartender at The Angel pub in Leeds, where he has worked for years. His sculptures are powerful, unsettling, beautiful. He is a great talent.

Dean's big love of Leeds United has recently led to him sculpting beloved Leeds figures: Jack Charlton, Marcelo Bielsa, and Gary Speed, amongst others.

Have a look at his work here: https://www.deankempsculptures.co.uk

A month ago, Dean had a devastating right-sided stroke. He is now paralysed along part of his right side and has severe aphasia, a condition that arises from damage to the brain's language centre. Dean currently has only a few words. Two are swear words, which is common in aphasia, as swear-words are automatic speech and easier to recall. But if you know Dean you'd expect him to have retained some curse-words: he wouldn't be Dean without a bit of cursing. Other words can be jumbled or not come out at all. He faces a long road to recovery.

Dean has a huge network of friends and a close and loving family. But he has no additional income, and will not be able to work for months and possibly longer. He will need an extensive period of rehab, and physical and speech therapy. We have set this up to help him and his partner pay their bills, as Dean has no money coming in. We will pay the money directly into his account and post screenshots of this.

Please help in any way you can. He's a good 'un and the world is a better place with his sculptures in it.