The Charity Arts Project has launched with a 10-piece collection of artworks, with 30 limited-edition prints of each design, costing between £45 and £65. The artists volunteer their work and £15 of each sale goes to the paired charity of that work.
Bath-based White Duck Screen Print produced intricate silk-screen prints measuring 500x700m at “considerable discount” and they went on display on Sunday at a pop-up store at Boxpark pop-up store in Shoreditch, east London. The prints are produced by hand and can be bought online or in the Boxpark shop.
The five-staff company works for independent artists, design studios and galleries and also prints t-shirts. Its kit includes a Natgraph flatbed press and a Hopkins carousel press for t-shirts.
Clients include art specialist Black Dragon Press, design studio La Boca and Scottish brewery Brewdog UK.
“We've been running for a decade and have noticed more screen printers starting up in the last five years,” said Joshua Roberton, who runs the company with his partner Rebecca Cleal.
“There's a real return to print on paper as a back-swing to the digital revolution. We want to put ourselves at the top of this growing pack based on our reputation for good quality.
“When the digital revolution was really happening people said print was dead, which was preposterous. All you need do is pick up a beautifully produced book to see the magic of print.”
Artists displaying work for sale at the Charity Arts Project include illustrator May van Millingen, graphic designers Yoni Alter and Pixel, and print-maker Adam Bridgland.
The money raised will go to charities including Breast Cancer Now, Mind UK, the MS Society, WWF and the Brain Tumour Charity.
Charity communications professional Jamie Lederhose and junior doctor Tom Bracewell launched the project, inspired by the death of Lederhose's 54-year-old mother Janis of a brain tumour in 2011.
What began as a small fundraising idea has now grown into a national social enterprise supporting several charitable causes following positive feedback from the art world.
Supporters include payment partner iZettle, which donated a card terminal, Big Cartel web-store hosting company, the designer group Glass, JAM photography and the University of Nottingham.
Lederhose said: "Through the beauty of screen-printing and the generosity of our artists and partners we hope to give people a new way to show their support.
“The charity market is becoming more and more crowded and increasingly we’re seeing that while people want to give to various causes, they also want to get something in return.
“And that’s no bad thing. It has opened the door for new approaches to fundraising.”
