Charity art sale is huge success as it raises more than £8,000 in Shrewsbury
An ‘art sale like no other’ took place in Shrewsbury last weekend – with people camping out overnight to buy paintings.
The Soden Collection in Wyle Cop, a leading contemporary gallery, hosted the region’s first ‘Secret Artist Sale’ in aid of charity and declared the event a huge success.
“We were amazed by the response to the Secret Artist Sale – not only did people queue for hours to be part of it, we managed to raised over £8,000 for charity, exceeding all our expectations,” said Jonathan Soden of the gallery, who organised the weekend with Tina Boyle and Jocelyne Fildes.
The event featured around 120 pieces of original art contributed from international, national, local and emerging artists and raised money for four good causes – Breast Cancer Now, The Samaritans, Trees for Shropshire and Alzheimer’s Society.
“All the work was a standard size and all for sale at £50," Jonathan added. "So this was a fantastic opportunity for people to acquire original paintings by some outstanding artists such as Halima Cassell MBE, Philip Sutton RA, The Doodle Boy and Matt Sewell for a superb price.
“We want to thank all the artists who kindly contributed and all the many customers who queued up.
"Even though some of them were there for hours and hours there was a great atmosphere.
"I don't think Wyle Cop has ever seen anything like it!"
The sale opened at 10am and they sold out in just over an hour.
The event also included a raffle and a ‘silent auction’ for some larger artwork.
"The success was overwhelming," added Jonathan. "We are already receiving offers of artwork for next year so we hope to make this an annual event in Shrewsbury."
