Article 25, the UK’s leading architectural and construction aid charity, is pleased to announce that its 10×10 Drawing the City London art auction raised an impressive £90,000.
Artwork created by world-renowned architects, designers and artists went under the hammer at the special live auction which took place at The Crossing, 1 Granary Square, London, on Thursday 28th November.
All participants created unique pieces of art, capturing the extraordinary, the unnoticed and the ever-changing City of London. This year focussed on areas such as Hackney, Shoreditch and the Barbican.
“This year’s auction was a wonderful celebration of all the visual representations of the built environment from drawing and photography to painting and sculpture,” says Maxwell Hutchinson, founder of Article 25, broadcaster, architect and former past president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
“The auction is in its third year and once again the event would not have been a success without the support from sponsors and each participant taking time to create artwork for the benefit of those in need of sustainable shelter.”
Robin Cross, Article 25’s CEO says: “Auction funds from 10×10 will be absolutely crucial in enabling us to start up much needed new projects this year. To us, the £90,000 raised is far more than just money, it means being able to work with vulnerable communities for an additional 20 months, bringing the skills and knowledge of our architects, engineers and construction professionals to places experiencing extreme poverty, where they are needed the most.”
Article 25 will be using all the proceeds from the sale of artwork to design and build best practice Street Children’s Centres, helping to get thousands of Africa’s most vulnerable children off the streets permanently, and reconnecting them with their families or foster families.
These Street Children’s Centres will be designed together with the children so that they genuinely meet their needs and create the best possible environment for rehabilitation. The Centres will provide them with places to sleep, medical support, counselling and help in reengaging with education or training. Article 25 plans to launch the first of these innovative Centres in Kenya and Ghana, producing a prototype design that can be replicated throughout the continent.