PRG is proud to be offering marketing and sponsorship support to St Wilfrid’s Hospice Big Art Secret charity auction.
With donations of art from David Hockney, Tracey Emin, the Prime Minister, hospice patients and supporters aged four-100, PRG is in good company.
More than 500 postcard-sized works of art will appear anonymously on eBay, with the starting bid set at just 99p. The work will be exhibited at Towner, the South East’s award-winning contemporary art museum, who are host and partner in the event.The auction goes live on eBay on October 11th, during national Hospice Care Week, and the exhibition at Towner runs from October 13th-20th, with the auction closing on October 21st.
Bidders who can spot an original Hockney or Emin could stand to win a piece worth thousands by pledging just pennies. Hockney’s work is described as ‘an ink and colour crayon drawing on a postcard’ while Emin has donated four postcards in her trademark style. Ronnie Corbett and author Jilly Cooper have included a clue to their identity in their artwork. St Wilfrid’s Hospice CEO Kara Bishop said the sheer number of postcards donated was a heart-warming start to an exciting event. “This is an opportunity for anyone, not just art collectors, to support our charity and stand to gain substantially from it, be it in terms of owning a valuable artwork or from the enjoyment we can all get from a piece of art that truly strikes us as beautiful or moving.
“The auction will appeal to art collectors and complete newcomers to the art world but the beauty is, with artists spanning 96 years and from household names to hospice patients, nobody will really know which ones are by a famous artist until after the virtual gavel falls.”
Matthew Rowe, Artistic Director at Towner, said: “We are delighted to be able to support this extremely worthwhile event. The response not only from the art world but from all walks of life has been phenomenal.
“But the twist is in the secret – by obscuring the market value, who knows the true financial worth of each postcard? You could walk away with something of substantial worth on the art market and you will have supported such an important and life-affirming cause.”
The auction is part of Campaign Hospice Reach, with money raised going towards furnishing and equipping a new 20-bed facility and contributing to the hospice’s vision of transforming end of life care, inside and outside the hospice walls. St Wilfrid’s is gaining a reputation for its education and outreach work, breaking taboos and dispelling myths surrounding hospice life.
