My initial idea for Art for Ukraine began during the first week of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in February 2022. I was desperately sad about the situation and felt I needed to do something in solidarity with the Ukrainians.
So I donated an artwork to raise money. But I was also concerned that if I were to donate to a generic aid organisation, the money might not get through to the right channels. So I reached out to a local humanitarian aid worker, Sarah Griffith MBE. I told Sarah I'd like to give to SAMU charity, with whom I knew Sarah had worked closely alongside for a number of years.
So, that Saturday evening, with the support of Sarah’s facebook community, as well as my own, I opened bids on my piece of artwork. The auction closed at 10pm. And the closing bid for “Meadow Flowers with Polymmatus Icarus” came in at £1,500, plus another donation of £1,000.
From that moment, I realised this was an opportunity to hand over the reigns to other artists in the Bailiwick. Over the following weeks more than 30 artists took part in the initiative, raising over £10,000. And every single penny went to SAMU medical charity.
Plus, thanks to Hayley Bachelet of Sula Gallery, the Art for Ukraine initiative had a physical presence on the island too. Each week a new set of donated art and craft works went on display for auction.
My mantra for this initiative was, “A life not lived for others is not a life.” Every penny raised went to help those in need. And as an added bonus, donors could treat themselves to beautiful works of art.