Brighton venue and children’s charity join for art auction

Sussex’s arts calendar will be bolstered by a brand new event next year as Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice and Brighton Dome join forces to host the Big Heart charity art auction in March 2015.

The very first Big Heart auction will include over 200 donated artworks from local, national and celebrity artists, illustrators and photographers including artworks from Raymond Briggs – illustrator of the much-loved The Snowman and Patron of Chestnut Tree House – Dan Baldwin, Jake Wood-Evans, Dion Salvador Lloyd, Pippa Blake, Gary Goodman, Natalie Papmichael and Phillipa Cannan.

Each piece of art will be available for purchase, with all proceeds going towards supporting both Chestnut Tree House – which cares for over 300 terminally ill children in Sussex and South East Hampshire – and Brighton Dome.

An online gallery – showcasing all participating Big Heart artists and artworks – will be available to view from January 2015. The auction will then go live on eBay for Charity from Thursday 26 February to Sunday 8 March. Alongside the online gallery, Brighton Dome will play host to a public Big Heart exhibition from Tuesday 3 to Friday 6 March. The exhibition is free to enter and will be an opportunity to see first hand artworks from a wide range of artists.

The partnership builds on the collaborative work already begun between the organisations through the Umbrella Club, Brighton Dome’s membership club for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their siblings and carers.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Chestnut Tree House on the inaugural Big Heart charity auction. The project not only enables us to build on our partnership work with Chestnut Tree House through the Umbrella Club; Brighton Dome’s membership club for children and young people with life-limiting conditions and their siblings and carers, but also to showcase and support the work of the local artistic community who have generously donated to the auction.’

Liz Ganney, Head of Fundraising Development at Chestnut Tree House, said ‘We are very excited about our first Big Heart auction. This is a great opportunity to snap up a unique piece of art whilst helping to raise vital funds so Chestnut Tree House can care for local life-limited children and their families across Sussex.’

June Frickleton, Big Heart curator and art expert said ‘The artist community in Sussex have been amazing. We’ll have a wide range of high quality artwork available and hope to appeal to all tastes. In addition to our fabulous local artists we hope to have a few artworks from celebrities and big names from the art world. We know artists are a very generous bunch and we have been just delighted by the support we have been offered. It’s going to be a really unique auction for a very worthy local cause.’

ECE Architecture, an award-winning Sussex based architectural firm, is the headline sponsor for the first Big Heart auction.

Tony Clark, Chairman of ECE Architecture said, ‘As supporters of Chestnut Tree House for many years, when we were asked to be the headline sponsor for the very first Big Heart auction we did not hesitate. There is a natural affinity between art and architecture and we are delighted to be involved with the Sussex arts community who have generously donated pieces for the auction. All at ECE are looking forward to making the auction a memorable success.’

Other supporters include the online organic cosmetic producers, Green People and Brighton Sushi restaurant Moshimo, who will be supporting the gala event that closes the exhibition. Brighton design agency, Designate, have donated their creative time and devised the Big Heart brand materials.

Over the next few months, artistes and celebrities performing at Brighton Dome will be given a special artists’ pack.

They will then be asked to create their very own masterpiece for inclusion in the Big Heart auction.

Anyone who wants to get involved can call 01903 871838, email bigheart@chestnut-tree-house.org.uk or visit www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/bigheart