Art Auction To Educate Direct Provision Youngsters

/ 1st April 2021 /

The Scoop Foundation plans to run a four-day-long online contemporary art auction later this month, featuring more than 350 works from Irish artists.

The education NGO raises cash annually via its contemporary art auction, and raised €88,000 when it moved the event online last May.

Founders Andrew and Calvin Sweeney decided to go one step further this month by running the event live and online over four days from April 23 to 26.

The brothers say it will be Ireland’s largest ever charity art auction, and hope it will also support artists during the pandemic. Scoop will split the auction proceeds with the artists receiving 50% of what’s raised.

Calvin Sweeney said: “Scoop wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the kindness and generosity of Irish artists, and during these difficult times we want to support them just as they have supported us and helped us grow down the years”.

Scoop supports education and skills-based training for young peopple living in Direct Provision centres in Ireland, and in displacement camps in Iraq.

The auction will be held in The Copper House Gallery in Dublin, hosted live online via the Invaluable website and mobile app. Potential bidders can register there, putting Scoop Foundation in the search bar and even leave pre-bids if they cannot make the live auction. The mobile app also allows buyers to tune in live and bid in real time.

For everyone else, the live event will be streamed on all social media platforms bidding is possible only via the Invaluable website.

Featured Artists

Among the artists whose works will be on offer are Emmalene Blake aka ESTR, Maser, Helen Steele, ACHES, Kate Beagan, Kathrina Rupit, SOLUS, Leah Hewson, DUDA, Kathrina Rupit, Derick Smith, Eamon Colman, Linda Brownlee, Conor Bereen, Morgan, Threadstories, Gráinne Nagle, Ciana Fitzgerald, Tim Goulding, EOIN, Aideen Barry, Kevin Sharkey, Niamh Gillespie, SUMS, Miriam Fitzgerald Juskova, Peter Monaghan, Una O’Connor, David Booth, Colm MacAthlaoich, Shane O’Driscoll, Stephen Burke, Vanessa Power, techno producer/DJ Gavin Matador and 200 more, with more than 350 artworks up for grabs.

In Newbridge, Kildare, featured artist and TY year student Harmanpreet Kaur is creating a large canvas at the Crooked House Theatre studio space. Kaur lives with her father and two siblings in the Direct Provision centre in Kildare.