‘BE INSPIRED’ Contemporary Art Auction in aid of The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts

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Online and live auction of contemporary art to raise vital funds for children with life-limiting illnesses

A selection of contemporary art from artists such as Tracey Emin, Marc Quinn, Gavin Turk, Idris Khan and Xavier Mascaro will be auctioned online by Paddle8 from 17 September to 1 October, culminating in a live auction on Wednesday 1 October at the Saatchi Gallery, London.

The BE INSPIRED Auction is being hosted by leading independent private investment office, Floreat Group, to raise vital funds for inspirational arts engagement programmes run for disadvantaged children by The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts (Children & the Arts).

Every piece sold will allow more children to take part in Children & the Arts' programmes, with a particular emphasis on the ‘Start Hospices’ programme, which enables children with a life-limiting illness to enjoy special organized family days out at local galleries, museums and theatres; bringing families together away from  their usual day-to-day routine of clinical care and support at their local hospice.

The online auction will go live at 3p.m. (GMT) on Wednesday 17 September at http://paddle8.com/

The live auction at the Saatchi Gallery is by invitation only. To register your interest, please email [email protected]

Auction lots will include pieces from the following artists:

Tracey Emin
Marc Quinn
Idris Khan
David Dawson
Gavin Turk
Xavier Mascaro
Frances Segelman
Broomberg & Chanarin
Berndnaut Smilde
Paul Fryer
Juan Costa-Hoevel
Georgina Barclay
Jonathan Yeo
Guler Ates
Shezad Dawood
Simon Tarrant

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Jeremy Newton, Chief Executive, Children & the Arts, said:  

BE INSPIRED is a wonderful opportunity to help many more children and their families. The money raised from the auction will have a huge impact on our work, not least our Start Hospices programme, which gives families coping with this most difficult time a rare respite from the illness, allowing them to spend valuable time together in a new relaxed but adapted and supported setting enjoying arts activities and experiences that will stay with them forever.

Hussam  Otaibi, Managing Partner, Floreat Group, said:

Floreat Group is proud to be supporting Children & the Arts, a charity which has a positive impact on so many children's lives. We are thrilled to be hosting an auction that will raise much needed funds to support and extend the charity's reach to many more children in need of its inspirational work. 

Alexander Gilkes, Founder and President, Paddle8, said:

We are honoured to be supporting Children & the Arts by presenting this auction to Paddle8's community of 200,000 art collectors worldwide. The auction includes an outstanding group of artworks by some of the most coveted artists working today, and we are delighted to be a part of this effort to raise funds for children to have the opportunity to experience the arts for the first time. 

Floreat Group will curate a collection of up to 100 pieces of art for the online auction. The top 10 lots will go into the live auction at the Saatchi Gallery. Online bidders will be given the opportunity to bid in the live auction by phone. The remaining lots in the online auction will continue on the evening and iPads will be circulated amongst the guests.

About The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts

The Prince's Foundation for Children & the Arts was founded by HRH The Prince of Wales with the fundamental belief that every child has the right to be inspired by the arts. The charity’s UK-wide arts engagement programmes work with deprived children from areas of social and economic disadvantage and build partnerships between their schools and local high quality cultural venues.  The charity takes children on a journey into their local arts venue and unlocks the arts for those who need to be inspired by them the most, raising children’s self-esteem and confidence, and nurturing their communication skills. Through the work of Children & the Arts, children learn that cultural venues are welcoming, accessible places to visit and since 2006 Children & the Arts has introduced over 300,000 children to life-changing arts experiences.

About Floreat Group

Floreat Group is a leading independent private investment office representing a substantial and diversified client base that includes families, UHNWI, institutions, sovereign wealth funds and the partners of the firm. The art auction is a commitment to supporting the work of Children and the Arts, by hosting fundraising initiatives and by direct funding of their project work.

About Paddle8

Paddle8 is the auction house for the 21st-century collector. Paddle8 has created a marketplace for collectors by offering authenticated art and design through curated online auctions, as well as benefit auctions in collaboration with non-profit organizations. To date, Paddle8 has partnered with more than 200 non-profit museums and foundations worldwide to present their benefit auctions online, dramatically expanding the audience of supporters and fundraising results by engaging Paddle8's global collector community. Founded in 2011 by Alexander Gilkes, an auctioneer and LVMH veteran, and Aditya Julka, a Harvard Business School MBA and serial entrepreneur, Paddle8 has over 50 employees worldwide, with teams in New York, L.A., and London. Paddle8 is funded by the investors behind Uber, Vimeo, Buzzfeed, Paperless Post, Warby Parker, and Bonobos, among others, as well as art-world insiders including artist Damien Hirst, art dealer Jay Jopling, and Matthew Mellon.

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