4A Gallery Fundraiser

I spent $200 tonight purchasing an artwork by the artist, Hu Ming. The truth be told, I didn’t know the work was by Hu Ming, as the work was part of an anonymous fundraiser by 4A Gallery in Sydney. I’m a great fan of 4A, having previously visited quite a number of their exhibitions, and having previously purchased works through their “Edition” scheme. In some ways, tonight’s purchase was a little like “Edition”. Through “Edition” you paid an annual amount of money and received three or four unseen works. Tonight’s annual fundraiser featured works by a range of artists, some of them well-known, others emerging. All of the works, without names attached, cost $200, so in some ways it was a lucky dip.

Last week we launched our 4A A4 Members’ drive and fundraising exhibition. We’d like to welcome all our lovely new Members’ and wish to thank everyone for their generous support. With your help we have raised just under $25,000! This is a fantastic result, and a successful campaign. With a few weeks to go until the end of the exhibition on November 30 we hope to nudge that figure along, all works are now available for viewing and sale through our website here. Details of artists are revealed once works are sold. We’ve had great feedback from all kinds of people about 4A A4, and a number of Members have said that we should run it every year! Based on this feedback 4A A4 may become a regular feature in our program. In our next Members’ newsletter we will publicly launch the key components of our 2014 program. It is going to be an exciting year, with a number of great opportunities for Members and artists. We will be continuing our Beijing Residency Program as well as our Members’ Program of talks, discussions and studio visits. You will also have noticed that the support of our Members is now recognised as a level of support on our Funding and Supporters page here as we recognise the valuable contributions that 4A Members make to our program and activities. Thanks once again for your support! Team 4A

As I walked around the exhibition tonight, there were some artists I could identify simply by their style. But for me, the thing about purchasing an art work without the names attached to them, meant everyone was probably more inclined to purchase something they really loved, as opposed to something they thought was a “good purchase” or a “wise investment”. Unfortunately a lot of the works I really loved were already purchased before I arrived. But there was still one I really liked, and after mentioning it to Kate, she said, “Well, why don’t you just get it”. At a time when I probably shouldn’t be purchasing an art work (travel plans), I thought “what the heck” and $200 on my credit card later, I’m now the owner of a work by Hu Ming, which I like very much.

There was a real buzz in the room tonight, with more than half the works sold in about an hour. A fabulous evening all round… No doubt things were helped by the hipster drinks… cocktails served in jam jars!