As the British Prime Minster went on TV to announce more Covid doom and gloom, Art for Youth Mall Galleries returned to London. The Mall Galleries are just a stone’s throw from 10 Downing Street, seat of the UK’s Prime Minister.
Art for Youth is an annual charity private view. We love the curation of the show, an extremely high standard amongst established and new artists. The exhibition thrives away from from Instagram influencers and red carpet goers.
But the gathering is still a super social crowd and they know what they want on their walls: beautiful art…
This time the galleries weren’t as full as previous years. But people’s purchase power remains strong and selling art for a good cause is what matters. As does raising awareness of young talent. Paintings and photographs did indeed fly off the wall.
Pieces include pretty oils on boards, eye catching photography of animals and nature and charming pieces of ceramics plus much more. To call the selection commercial would be fair, but beautifully so.
The evening starts with drinks and socialising. The more serious buyers scour the different rooms in the Mall Galleries for pieces to buy. (See also our blog post on how to shop for art at a private view here). An hour later London auctioneer and consultant Nicholas Bonham kicks off with his famously lively auction of special items. It was Bonham’s family whose family founded Bonhams auctioneers.
Bonhams now has a flagship salesroom in Bond Street. And while Nick Bonham himself has parted with the house, he is still part of London’s social fabric.
Over £1m raised for young people as Art for Youth Mall Galleries returns following lockdown
The event is super social. Art for Youth which has been going since 1988 has raised over £1.5 million to helping young people aged 9-25 in need, due to either social or personal barriers. In addition to holding social sales evenings, organisers also sell online where even more money is raised.
Tickets to the events are unusually modestly priced. While other fundraisers can cost hundreds or thousands of pounds or dollars per ticket, Art for Youth is a bargain £20 for entry to the opening Private View evening. On top of that, TikTokkers are few and far between (so far).
