Paintings, Sculptures, Drawings Up For Auction For War Child

FreeHand, an art auction benefitting War Child, features 50 works from established and emerging contemporary artists, along with another six created by children from War Child’s Afghanistan program. The pieces include sculpture, mixed media, painting, drawing, photography and print.

The auction — a partnership between War Child and ArtBarrage that began last year — to raise funds for war-affected children in some of the world’s most devastated regions is now accepting bids online here. Opening bids range from $80 for Nancy Oakes’s Thurs. Oct. 25, 2012 Yonge From St. Mary To Cumberland (2012)” to $2500 for Jacob Whibley’s node (known unknowns), 2012. All the Afghani kids’ drawings open at $250.

A preview of FreeHand will take place in Toronto on April 20 to 21 from noon to 5:00 p.m. each day at Waddingtons Auction House (275 King Street East, 2^nd Fl.) and culminate in a live auction and cocktail reception on April 25, 2013 at 99 Sudbury at 6 p.m.

Tickets for the live auction are $60 and can be purchased online at www.warchild.ca/freehand or by calling the War Child office at (416) 971-7474.  The auctioneer for the event will be contemporary art specialist Stephen Ranger of Waddingtons Auction House.

“There is a strong connection between art and War Child’s mission to restore normalcy to children’s lives in the fragile aftermath of conflict,” said War Child founder and executive director Dr. Samantha Nutt in a statement. “Art and culture can help children realize that their heritage is not just war. It acts as a thread of continuity to what went before. It goes a long way to creating an environment in which childhood can once again thrive, and the return to violence becomes less and less likely.”

Curated by Kelly McCray and Walter Willems, FreeHand’s 2013 collection includes works from Jeannie Thib, Sarah Anne Johnson, Sanaz Mazinani, John Nobrega, Camilla Singh, Jordan MacLachlan, Tomori Nagamoto, Eldon Garnet, Douglas Walker, Kotama Bouabane, Bill Burns, John Brown, Rob MacInnis, Seth Scriver, Alex McLeod, Geoffrey Pugen, Tibi Tibi Neuspiel, Clive Holden, Michael Adamson and Scott Everingham.

“The FreeHand auction showcases the poignant insights of the contemporary visual art community while supporting the vital War Child programmes that help restore communities decimated by the ravages of war,” said Kelly McCray. “This year, works have been donated by an incredible group of contemporary artists, and have been selected based on excellence in their respective mediums as well as commentary on the War Child vision.”

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