Art exhibition to boost hospice and village church

A volunteer hopes eye-catching art will help raise awareness for the hospice which she gives her time to.

Celia Gordon, who has been a volunteer at St Nicholas Hospice Care for more than five years, has been busy organising the art exhibition and sale which takes place at Tuddenham St Mary’s Church, on Saturday, May 4, to Monday, May 6, and Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12.

This is the third time St Mary’s Church has opened its doors to an array of artwork and thanks to exhibiting artists agreeing to give a share of the sale price of their pieces, £5,000 has been raised to date. The money raised is split evenly between The Friends of St Mary’s Church Tuddenham and St Nicholas Hospice Care.

Celia, who volunteers on the hospice’s inpatient Sylvan Ward every Wednesday, has led a team to organise the event.

She said: “The hospice offers essential support to local people living with dying, death and grief and it deserves as much help as possible to keep its vital services available to the community.

“It is important to get many more people to know and understand that the hospice is dependent upon fundraising events and donations to keep it going. It is amazing how many people I come across who think it is an NHS service not requiring any further finance.”

The Friends of St Mary’s Church Tuddenham was set up in the 1990s to preserve, maintain and enhance the fabric of this wonderful 13thncentury church, for the benefit of the people of Tuddenham and the wider community.

Artist Laura Beardsell-Moore has kindly donated the original painting featured on the art exhibition publicity poster as a raffle prize.

The painting, worth £400, will be raffled off at £5 a ticket. The tickets can be purchased at the exhibition, or from now by contacting Celia on email jandcgordon@btconnect.com; the draw will take place 3pm on May 12.

Local aggregate supplier, Allen Newport Ltd is sponsoring the exhibition.

Richard Stevens, managing director of Allen Newport Ltd, said: “As a local business operating from the quarry since the mid-1960s we have a long association with the village of Tuddenham and are delighted to be able to support these worthy causes.

“I attended the previous exhibition and was very impressed by what was on display. I would encourage as many people as possible to visit St Mary’s Church during those weekends and help the two organisations achieve their goals.”

With more than 40 artists already agreeing to submit their work of varying styles and mediums, with a generous percentage being split between the two charities it is hoped the artistic occasion will once again prove to be a fundraising hit.

Admission to the exhibition is free and it is open from 10.30am to 3.30pm each day.

Refreshments (tea, coffee, soft drinks, and cakes) will be available to buy during the exhibition.

Pictured above is Richard Stevens, managing director of Allen Newport Ltd, and Celia Gordon, exhibition organiser, getting set for the Tuddenham Art Exhibition.