Freedom from Torture auction raises £7,500
'The auctions build on the work of the charity’s art sessions where survivors of torture use art to aid their recovery.'
The Quaker-supported charity Freedom from Torture has raised £7,500 auctioning the work of the the late Iraqi artist Ausama al Khalil. The designer and painter was a survivor of torture, which left him with severe pain and disability.
Joseph Evans, media manager, told the Friend: ‘While the auction is over, Freedom from Torture in fact host an art auction every two years. At last year’s auction, held at Sotheby’s, artists including Ai Weiwei, Antony Gormley, Quentin Blake and Anish Kapoor all donated paintings and the event raised £265,000.’
The auctions build on the work of the charity’s art sessions where survivors of torture use art to aid their recovery. Participants include survivor Ronce, a political prisoner in the Democratic Republic of Congo who fled to the UK. As an asylum seeker he is unable to work. Speaking to presenter Neil McCarthy on the Radio 4 programme Art of Now three weeks ago, he described how his art keeps him going.
Friends have long supported the charity, including an 865-mile ‘Cycle Against Torture’ ride from Hastings to Edinburgh in 2019, which stopped off at several Quaker Meeting houses.
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