Cork Street Open Exhibition 2011. Photo © Eugenie Absalom
Cork Street Open Exhibition Private View in aid of PAPYRUS saw the exhibition Founder Kathryn Roberts, Daily Telegraph Chief Art Critic Richard Dorment and PAPYRUS Chairman Stephen Habgood address the audience in Mayfair on 3rd August 2011.
Art and Meringue in Cork Street. Photo © Eugenie Absalom
The fourth annual Cork Street Open Art Exhibition for charity is occupying two galleries in Cork Street – 27 and 28 with an eclectic display of over 200 contemporary art works in a wide range: painting, photography, sculpture, original printmaking, digital artwork and mixed media constructions. The final selection was made from over 2 100 entries, submitted by British and international artists.
The Cork Street Open Exhibition Private View brought together some 200 invited guests – art lovers, patrons and supporters of PAPYRUS, the UK’s young suicide prevention charity, for an exclusive evening with guest speakers.
PAPYRUS Chairman, Stephen Habgood, and his wife, Sheila were guests of honour at this year’s Private View. “The biggest killer of young people in the UK is young people themselves,” – said Stephen Habgood. “1 700 young people kill themselves each year – that’s young people under 34. It is actually a national scandal – more young people die of their own hands than of any other cause.”
” I wish I never knew that PAPYRUS existed,” – continued Stephen Habgood, “but I lost my own son. He was 26 years old when he died on 2 March 2009.”
“What can you do to stop other young people from taking their lives? This is what we do by introducing help lines, by explaining young people that feeling depressed is not abnormal, by taking down Internet sites that encourage young suicide,” – concluded PAPYRUS Chairman. He thanked all present for their support for PAPYRUS. In particular, he expressed thanks to Kathryn Roberts, Founder and Director of the Exhibition, for nominating PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide as this year’s charity.
Mixing Cocktails in Cork Street. Photo © Eugenie Absalom
Richard Dorment, Chief Art Critic from The Daily Telegraph, opened this year’s event on behalf of the charity. He focused on the creative potential of art as an outlet for conditions like melancholy, sadness and depression, that lead to suicide. “Art and melancholy go hand in hand,”- he said. “To me the best artist is the one, who can put sadness into paint.”
The 2011 Cork Street Open Exhibition in aid of PAPYRUS takes place on 4 – 12 August at The Gallery and Gallery 27 in Cork Street. Daytime admission is free and a percentage of all sales goes to PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide charity.
Mother With a Child in Cork Street. Photo © Eugenie Absalom
View Cork Street Open Exhibition 2011 Photographs
27 – 28 Cork Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 3NG
News and photos by Eugenie Absalom
