News / 30 Jun 2022

Student work goes on sale in anonymous charity auction

MA Creative Practice

Work selected as competition finalist

Work selected as competition finalist

Work selected as competition finalist

Work selected as competition finalist

Work selected as competition finalist

Work selected as competition finalist

Leeds Arts University have collaborated with law firm Walker Morris to give one student the opportunity to take part in a charity action as part of their sponsorship of Heart Research UK's anonymous heART project.

The anonymous heART project launched in 2018 and is an innovative fundraising campaign that sees top artists and celebrities produce unique pieces anonymously, which are then auctioned online. All proceeds go towards helping fund vital medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease, adding to the £130,000 already raised in previous years.

“We are immensely proud to be sponsoring the anonymous heART project again this year, as well as being able to offer this opportunity to the talented students of Leeds Arts University. The quality of the work has been incredible but the piece we chose as the winner is a tremendous piece of art - a standout piece in my view - about togetherness that sends all the right messages.”

David Smedley, Chairman of the Partners at Walker Morris

To celebrate the fifth anonymous heART project, the charity has collaborated with Walker Morris to offer an exclusive opportunity to the students of Leeds Arts University. The students were asked to submit a concept for an A5 postcard, with an open brief that could include textile, illustration, photography, music or creative writing – as long as it fits onto an A5 postcard.

This year’s finalists have been named as: Aalia Ashraf, Foundation Diploma in Art & Design; Juliet Gaskell, second year BA (Hons) Visual Communication, Louise Allen, MA Creative Practice; Nicole Chang, second year BA (Hons) Visual Communication; Lauren Crawford, second year BA (Hons) Illustration and Thea Wormald, first year BA (Hons) Fine Art. The winning design will be commissioned and auctioned as part of the anonymous heART auction alongside professional artists and celebrities taking part in the project. The winner will also receive £1,000 in prize money.

“Being part of the judging panel has been a such a pleasure and what a fantastic opportunity to see some very different and diverse pieces of art. All of the submissions were inspired and a real mix of techniques, styles and artistic vision, which made the task of choosing just one winner incredibly difficult. A lot of the pieces had a strong sense of bringing people together which is something that we try to do at Heart Research UK, we try to keep families together for longer through our Heart Research projects and projects within the community.” 

Rachel Brook, anonymous heART Lead from Heart Research UK

The auction went live on eBay on 22 October and saw up to 500 A5 creations auctioned, including pieces from Faile, Icy & Sot, Ralph Steadman, Mark Conlan, Hayley Welsh, Carrie Reichardt and Chvrches, alongside the winning Leeds Arts University student. The artists name was only revealed once the piece has been sold and received by its new owner.

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