One of Scotland’s most prolific charity art exhibitions with almost 400 artworks on sale starts next week.
For its 24th year running, the Ayrshire Art Exhibition and Sale launches on October 22 for four weeks, exhibiting the works of both top professionals and talented amateurs on sale in aid of Save the Children.
The event, organised by the Ayr and district branch of Save the Children, has been a huge success in the past, with a total of well over £500,000 raised over the past 23 years in aid of the charity’s work in Scotland and abroad.
The exhibition, now a staple in the Scottish art calendar, will house around 400 works by 220 artists, offering a diverse range of art in both price and style to enthusiastic buyers.
This year’s artists includes well-known names such as Helen M Turner, Erni Upton FRSA, Ian Elliot DA and Michael G Clark PAI, who, along with the other featured artists will be donating 40 per cent of their proceeds to Save the Children, with some of them donating entire works.
This year’s raffle prize, ‘Snapshot from a Glasgow Train’ is by renowned Scottish artist, Fiona Graham. Her paintings, which feature Glasgow tenement buildings in magnificent moody colours, were voted as the most popular paintings on display at last year’s exhibition and she has kindly donated this evocative image, featuring the Glasgow streets she knows so well.
Fiona Graham was also the winner of last year’s Grant People’s Prize at the exhibition – an annual award recognising the contribution made by exhibition organiser, Anne Grant, over the past 20 years.
For the first time, ‘Cameo cards’ will be on sale this year – over 200 unframed post card sized paintings that have been generously donated for sale at a reasonable price.
Other highlights include a children’s competition to design a Christmas card, an ‘observational’ children’s competition and quiz and an adult’s competition, of which this year’s theme is Ayrshire Image.
Robin Anderson, chairman of the Save the Children Ayr Committee said: ‘We have some real treasures amongst the works this year, it’s a varied and eclectic exhibition by both respected and renowned artists, as well as emerging new talent. We’re sure we’ll have something to suit all tastes and most pockets.
‘Excitingly, this is the first year that we’ll have ‘Cameo Cards’ – postcard sized original works on sale for a great price, we expect them to be very popular!’
Morag Smith, Save the Children’s community manager for the West of Scotland said: ‘The exhibition is such a highlight of our fundraising calendar and I’m always impressed by just how affordable some of these impressive works are. We’re very lucky to have so many prolific artists involved each year.
‘It’s also a great family day out, with children’s competitions and quizzes and an adventure playground in the grounds, so we hope people will drop in during Autumnal walks in the lovely grounds and find themselves a treasure or two.’
The exhibition is held at the Maclaurin Galleries at Rozelle Park in Ayr, and is open to viewers for four weeks, from Sunday, October 22, to Saturday, November 11.
Admission and parking at the event is free, and refreshments are available in the gallery’s coffee shop. Opening hours are 10am-4.30pm Monday to Saturday and noon-4.30pm on Sundays.
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