Press Release: ART AUCTION TO SAVE THE FOREST
Local and international artists are donating their work to a charity art auction in support of Save the Forest Campaign. The event is at the AXO Gallery in Leith on Saturday 14 May at 6-10pm. AXO owner Sarah Wilson said, “By bidding in this auction, not only are people buying art but are also supporting the arts in the community. Buy art to save art.”
The Forest Café, one of the few remaining independent art centres in the city, has been running a campaign to raise funds to stay in the building since October, when Edinburgh University Settlement (EUS), who owns the Forest’s premises at 3 Bristo Place, was declared bankrupt and forced into administration.
Local artist and educator Will Golding said of the campaign: “A threat to the Forest is a threat to anyone who cares about the power of exploration through art and community. To support this would be supporting these principles and causes across the world. Without the Forest I would not have learnt many of the things I now know, met such a range of great people, or even had the chance to develop in lots of different ways I would have never thought of.”
For more information about the campaign go to http://www.theforest.org.uk/, or contact fundraising@theforest.org.uk.
The AXO Gallery is on 59 Queen Charlotte Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 7EY.
FUNDRAISING UPDATE
As of today, just under 1,400 people have pledged their support in the Save the Forest e-petition, and the Forest has raised over £20,000 towards the purchase of the building or future rent.
Artists and celebrities who have pledged their support so far include Stephen Fry, musicians Amanda Palmer and Jason Webley, Guardian theatre journalist Lyn Gardner, playwright Lucy Kirkwood, and artists Andy Field and Deborah Pearson.
The Roofraiser event has been running from Friday 25 March, with over a month of live music to Save the Forest. Shows will be hosted at The Forest and other venues throughout Edinburgh on Wednesday through Sunday evenings through 1 May.
The Forest would like to remind people of three simple actions that they can take now to help Save the Forest:
SIGN THE E-PETITION at http://gopetition.com/petition/43255.html declaring your support for the campaign and for Forest to stay in its home. This will show just how many of us there are. If you use social networks, you can also tweet or Facebook about that petition from that site, follow us @foresttweets on Twitter, and you can “Like” our Facebook page.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN TEAM by offering your time, energy and skills. We want to hear every offer, from doing admin to running events, from smooching celebs to chugging on the street. E-mail fundraising@theforest.org.uk to offer your help, and see http://blog.theforest.org.uk/savetheforest for more information.
COMMIT TO A MONTHLY DONATION. The more money we have, and the more secure our income, the stronger a position we are in. You can be giving as little as £3 a month and be making a huge and significant contribution to Forest: it’s a much better way than just throwing money into a bucket. You can get forms at the cafe or online at http://blog.theforest.org.uk/savetheforest
BACKGROUND
The Forest is one of Edinburgh’s last remaining open-access arts centres, and has become an award-winning Fringe venue (The Forest Fringe). The volunteer-run charity operates an art gallery (Total Kunst), a theatre, performance and rehearsal spaces, a darkroom, a publishing house, a swap shop, a record label, a hairdresser, and a thriving vegetarian cafe. It has inspired like-minded projects and people all over the world, from Switzerland to Korea.
The Forest is not sponsored by the government, city council or the arts council. It has been been running a successful alternative business since it was established in August 2000, thanks to the commitment of a large and enthusiastic team of volunteers. It is a registered charity (SC038234), funded mainly by the Forest Cafe, and by the rental of facilities and the sale of books from Forest Publishing and music from Forest Records. In keeping with their ethos that art should be accessible, all of their events and workshops are free.
A detailed press pack about the Forest’s work is available at: http://www.theforest.org.uk/forestpresspack.pdf
Previous publicity and information about the campaign can be found at: http://blog.theforest.org.uk/savetheforest
CONTACT
The Forest, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh
http://www.theforest.org.uk
(Twitter: @foresttweets)
Harry Giles
Fundraising Officer / Media Contact
fundraising@theforest.org.uk
07766191817