Organ Thing of The Day: A quick parish noticeboard kind of thing to flag up the fact that The Art on a Postcard Annual Winter auction is back, it all opens on line on this Thursday November 5th, the auction is always something worth supporting, you’ll find the details in the press release that’s posted underneath the art just down there…

Art on a Postcard (AOAP) returns with its annual Winter Auction this November in partnership with Dreweatts Auction House to raise funds for the Hepatitis C Trust helpline. Since the global pandemic, many changes have been made to the way artwork is made and viewed. In light of this, AOAP have teamed up with art exhibition platform gowithYamo to present an online interactive show. The Winter Auction is no longer anonymous, providing an opportunity to discover in-depth the background and practices of the artists taking part, and, to accompany this year’s auction there will be a full programme of podcasts, artists talks and an opportunity to discover the emerging talent that AOAP are so proud to highlight.

There are 230 artists are participating this year, with highlights including: renowned Paraguayan artist Faith Wilding, known for her feminist performances and installations in the 70s, Dutch polemical artist Erik van Lieshout, British Anj Smith whose intricately rendered paintings explore issues of identity, eroticism, mortality, and fragility; critically acclaimed British artist Ryan Mosely who has recently taken part in the group show Radical Figures, Painting in the New Millennium at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, and Saint Lucian born artist Winston Branch whose accolades include a Guggenheim fellowship and work held in the collections of many of the world’s top galleries including The Tate, Guggenheim, V&A and many more.

The Winter Auction will focus on raising funds for the Hepatitis C Trust helpline, staffed entirely by people who have had hepatitis C. The helpline has become a key component to the Infected Blood Inquiry, an investigation launched to discover why infected blood products were being used to treat NHS patients prior 1992. Helpline manager Samantha May is compiling supporting evidence for the Inquiry based on statistics and commonalties received from calls made to the helpline. Calls made by patients who have received infected blood during transfusion, that has led to misdiagnosis and subsequently the discovery they have cirrhosis or liver cancer, is on the rise. Keeping up with these calls is now the first priority for the Trust.

“The helpline is one of the most difficult and important jobs at The Hepatitis C Trust and the Trust. In the coming months we expect to be inundated with calls as the Infected Blood Inquiry is set to be the largest Inquiry this country has seen and will certainly shine a light the thousands of people who’ve either lost their lives or had them incontrovertibly impaired.  The generosity of the artists who contribute to the auction will go a long way to raising both awareness and funds and ensuring there are fewer unnecessary deaths of hepatitis C.” – Gemma Peppe, Founder and Curator – Art on a Postcard.

About The Hepatitis C Trust

The Hepatitis C Trust is the national charity for people with hepatitis C. It is a patient-led and patient-run organisation; most of its board, staff and volunteers have had hepatitis C themselves. It is committed to eliminating hepatitis C in the UK by 2025. Its strategy is based around pillars of better prevention, increased diagnosis and treatment for all.  

It has established strong partnership models of working with substance misuse and homeless service providers across the UK. In substance misuse services, it delivers staff training, peer-led education about the importance of testing and availability of new treatments, and personal one-to-one support from initial diagnosis through to treatment.   It runs a range of support services, including a confidential national helpline run by staff and trained volunteers who have all had personal experience of living with hepatitis C.  

Helpline staff also provide patient-centred responses via email and run a designated prison freephone helpline service for prisoners across the UK. Its policy and parliamentary teamwork across the UK Parliament and the devolved nations to ensure hepatitis C stays firmly on the political agenda. It also publishes a range of reports and resources on aspects of the hepatitis C care pathway. 

Fullr details and such via www.artonapostcard.com