Art on a Postcard (AOAP) are running their fifth annual International Women’s Day auction and donating all proceeds to The Hepatitis C Trust.
The Art on a Postcard auction will feature artist picks from eight guest female curators.
Each of the guest curators will platform a selection of female artists, reimagining their relative disciplines and unique thematic approaches to fit bespoke postcard sized designs.
AOAP founder Gemma Peppé, 56, said: “I wanted AOAP to support The Hepatitis C trust because of what it has meant to me.”
The auction began on 27 February and will last for a two-week period, until 12 March.
Proceeds will go specifically to the the Hepatitis C Trust, targeting women affected by the criminal justice system, both in prison and local communities.
Peppé expressed how after a visit, 85% of inmates in a Bristol prison tested positive for Hepatitis C.
A Hepatitis C survivor herself, Peppé played an influential role during the early stages of The Hepatitis Trust.
She added: “The work that has been done in women’s prisons in the past few years by the Trust has been amazing.
“When the trust was started, we all had hepatitis C. The charity started as an information hub because we were all getting diagnosed.
“One the one hand, we were told that this is going to kill you, but on the other hand doctors were doing nothing.
“The trust has grown from lobbying parliament to advocated for patients.
“AOAP started because we needed a way to fundraise for the Hepatitis C Trust.”
Via the auction, Peppé aims to provide a platform to create awareness for the often shamed disease.
Given that the auction will also encompass International Women’s Day on 8 March, Peppé views the auction as the perfect opportunity to showcase the often overlooked and underrepresented work of women.
Peppé added: “International Women’s Day is a very good day to take note of and celebrate.
“A lot of creative women are mothers or housewives and even in the so called enlightened times women still do the lion share of the work at home, women carry the mental load, even whilst doing the same jobs.”
Artist and socially driven feminist painter Roxana Halls, whose work is being auctioned added: “How are we still so far from equality in terms of class and financial equity? There’s still a long way to go.
“I’m always thinking about where and how women take up space and disrupt politeness, how they circumvent the impulse to self-control and be contained.
“International Women’s Day is an opportunity for us all to amplify women’s voices in contexts they aren’t typically heard, to consider why we might not yet have heard them and to remember that we do need to listen, attentively and with respect for diversity and intersectionality.”
When asked about her objectives, Peppé added: “I can’t share all the details, but we are working towards the elimination of the disease which means there will still be cases but it won’t be a public health problem.
“The goal for the UK is 2025. The worldwide target is 2030. It looks like we are going to reach that.”
On Tuesday 5 March there will be a preview of all the works at Bomb Factory, Covent Garden, where patrons can see all the work collectively in person before placing their bids.
Featured image courtesy of Art on a Postcard
