Some of Wales’ top artists are helping to fight homelessness by donating work to a charity auction this month.
The Shelter Cymru art auction has become a major event in the Welsh arts calendar, with artists including William Selwyn, Gareth Parry, Mike Jones, Valerie Ganz, Helen Sinclair and Nick Holly regularly contributing pieces.
This year, more than 65 pieces have been donated and the charity is hoping to beat the £20,000 raised by last year’s auctions.
Andrew Jones of Shelter Cymru said: “The line-up of donors this year reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of Welsh art and, as always, the quality of work is outstanding.
“Demand for Shelter Cymru services is at a record high. Last year, our advisers helped nearly 16,000 people and dealt with around 22,000 housing problems. The generosity of all the artists who donate work to our auctions means that we are able to raise valuable funds to help us continue this work.
“We are also really pleased to welcome legal firm Eversheds, who have come on board as sponsor this year to cover the costs of staging the auctions.”
The art auctions are a legacy of the late Sir Kyffin Williams, a former Shelter Cymru Vice President who supported the charity by giving pieces of his work for raffle or auction prizes. His backing did not stop there however, as he encouraged many of his friends and colleagues to support the charity by making similar donations.
The first auction was held in 2002 and since then number of artists that have supported Shelter Cymru has grown significantly. In 2008 the charity expanded the event to include an auction in north Wales. All the art is donated to Shelter Cymru with all profits raised going to the charity.
All the art can be viewed on Shelter Cymru’s online gallery – visit www.sheltercymru.org.uk
The north Wales auction takes place at 7.30pm on Monday 20 September at the Royal Cambrian Academy, Conwy, viewing from 6pm.
The south Wales event will be held at 7.30pm on Friday 24 September at the Washington Gallery, Penarth, viewing from 6pm. The art will be on display from 2pm on Wednesday 22 September.
