The Art of Giving

Tracy Brambrough stood in the house of fairy-tales amongst a circle of silver mushrooms and introduced the night with an emotional talk about personal losses and how they evoked a need for her and her partner to support those in need, in response to their inner needs they created a whimsical platform to enhance artists from unknown to recognized while raising awareness and financial support for worldwide charities and the artists themselves. 

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" - Winston Churchill

Their platform is fittingly called 'the art of giving' and this year held at one of the most renowned galleries in the world, the Saatchi gallery and thanks to an invite from The Times i was able to make an appearance at the private showing. I'd suspected the event was going to be slightly high brow so i had only myself to blame when i felt edgy while grabbing at the free champagne despite wearing torn skinnys and un-laceable boots.

Oliver Marsden - Black Africa Dub - £6,000

There is a unique story behind every creation or purchase of art and especially if that piece of art has changed peoples lives, everything at Saatchi was for sale with 50% supporting the artist and 50% the charity. The House Of Fairytales uses; creative play, story telling and art exhibitions to teach and open up the mind of children and teenagers. 'You can discover more about a person in an hour of play, than a year of conversation" - Plato. Other charities include Stepping Stones Nigeria who help the persecuted and orphaned children of Africa who have been accused of witchcraft by people abusing spirituality. Artists supporting SSN include Beezy Bailey with his silver sculpture of a dancing Jesus and Zake Ove with Exodus; an african street constructed by model cars with African dolls hanging from cars in the street, missing limbs. 


Classic Fm Music Makers is a charity dedicated to help underprivileged and disabled children, their gallery room is dominated by a mountain of speakers which stands guards to the most staggering entertainment memorabilia including hair raising Terry o Neil prints of  Elton John & The Beatles and Drew Walker's face portraits of idols like Kate Moss.

My personal favorite up and coming artists displayed at TAOG include; Adrian Di Duca, Yosef Cohen, Paul Digby, Nerea Martinez de Lecea & Rachel Lumsden, definitely worth investigating these! The exhibition opened today, for one day only, to the public and hopefully will encourage long term support for artists and worthwhile charities.


As with some other posts, this will feature on The Other Side Magazine.