Artists from around Australia will participate in Art For Bales.
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Art For Bales will raise money for Rural Aid, a non profit organisation supporting drought stricken communities by selling paintings online. The organisation raised $77,000 in it's inaugural year in 2018.
Art For Bales was co-founded last year by Moss Vale resident and artist Andrea Hamann who came up with the idea after talking to a local farmer in the area.
"He was saying how he had to feed [the animals] by hand," she said.
Compelled to help, Andrea and friends launched an Instagram page to sell the art work. More than 200 artists joined Art For Bales after the word spread through the art community.
"The whole concept has snowballed fantastically in a year, from Co-Founder Kate Pittas and I donating the sale price of a painting to buy a bale, to it becoming this collective effort that's gone viral in the online art world," said Andrea.
"We're really grateful to the artists who have participated.
"There's a spectrum [of art] with local artists and well known artists.
"Art works include abstract, landscape, ceramic, embroidery and print screening.
"All you need is an Instagram profile to be able to buy the artwork."
Australians are battling the worst drought on record, with a dozen towns such as Stanthorpe in Queensland and Tenterfield in New South Wales almost at "day zero" of their water reserves.
In recent weeks, the brutality of drought has reflected in an early, destructive start to the bushfire season.
For those wanting to support the cause, there will be artworks for sale that suit every budget, with prices starting at $30 for the amateur connoisseur right up to $4,500 for serious investors and collectors.
Among the drove of participating talent includes Sulman Prize finalist and Hawkesbury Art Prize winner Ben Tankard, Paddington Art Prize winner Kiata Mason, along with Alexandra Plim, James Lai, and Joan Blond.
"With Art For Bales, our goal is threefold: raising the funds, raising awareness of just how badly the drought is affecting people outside the cities, and - from a mental health perspective - letting affected communities know that we haven't forgotten about them," said Andrea.
Rural Aid Chief Executive Officer, Charles Alder, is calling on Australians to dig deep to support rural communities during one of the worst droughts in Australia's history.
"From droughts to fires, the thought of having to deal with one natural disaster after another is difficult to contemplate but that's what these farmers go through," said Mr Alder.
"Thanks to the support of Australians who donate to Rural Aid, in all sorts of creative ways, farmers who are struggling will receive some respite on a matter of fronts, ranging from bales of hay to mental health support, which is in unprecedented demand right now."
How to participate:
1. Head to www.instagram.com/artforbales and browse the page to see artworks available for purchase.
2. From 12:00am AEDT on Saturday 19 October, once you've decided which artwork you'd like to purchase, visit the Instagram page of the artist and comment 'SOLD' on their post.The first to comment 'SOLD' buys the artwork.
3. Organise payment, receipt and shipping with the artist directly.
4. The artist will then send Art For Bales a receipt of their donation to Rural Aid, to the amount of the sale.
5. Share your artwork and spread awareness using the tags #artforbales2019 and #artforbales.
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