Artists at August House sell art at auction to feed the less privileged
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
Hunger, poverty and inequality with no doubt is unfortunately a feature of South African life. To some who maybe visiting from elsewhere might be surprised that such a country that is obviously wealthy with some pockets of it boasting features of first world economies, such as tree lined northern suburbs of Johannesburg, with its multi-billion malls and other features that are for the convenience of the wealthy struggles with extreme poverty and hunger for a significant section of its population.
However, the reality is some of the features of South African life are the exact opposite of the above, with excruciating poverty, hunger and desperation being part unfortunately part of daily life in South Africa for its biggest segment of its 60 million population. Indeed, this is a country of extreme inequality with the gap between the very rich and the very poor, being one of the biggest in the world. This gap between the rich and the poor, therefore, points to the fact that anyone who has the means and the will to do so must play their part to alleviate the situation of those struggling in society.
It is therefore in this context that the efforts of artists based at well-known Johannesburg artist hub, August House, in central Johannesburg, must be lauded as they are putting up their art works for sale to raise money to feed the hungry.
August House houses some of the leading names in visual art, as well as emerging artists who have studios from where they practice their art right in the heart of Johannesburg.
This funding raising effort by the artists is done in collaboration with UpstArt Galleries.
This auction which will be hosted by UpstART Galleries, will raise funds for Feed SA. The auction contains works from August House heavy weights such as Sam Nhlengethwa as well as award winning artists and emerging artists such as Themba Khumalo, Teboho Makoatsa, Lindo Zwane and many others.
“This auction waspostponed from last yeardue to a rise in the Covid numbers but we are back.The auction will take place on Thursday 3 February at the Catalyst Hotel (located here) and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to FeedSA. To attend the auction, guests are asked to RSVP as places will be limited.
The auction catalogue will be circulated before the exhibition. Buyers will be requested to register on the day,” says August House.
The beneficiary of the fine art auction, Feed SA is Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that sets up feeding schemes and community development projects in vulnerable communities around South Africa. Their beneficiaries include creches, after school programs, early childhood development centres, homes for the mentally and physically challenged, hospice, as well as support for bedridden and elderly citizens.
To take part in the auction RSVP here