Kilkenny artists join celebrities for online art sale in aid of very sick children

Some 22 local artists are among the ‘Who’s Who’ of Irish and international artists taking part in this year’s Incognito 2021 online art sale in aid of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation.

The identity of the artits taking part in the Incognito art collection is kept a secret, so people who buy custom-made prints don’t know the identity of the creator until after after the auction, which will take place at 10am on Thursday, April 22.

The prints, which cost €60, can be viewed online at http://www.incognito.ie.

The Incognito collection is made up of 3,000-plus original postcard-sized artworks in a range of mediums, from oils and pastels, to glass and metalwork.

Among the Kilkenny artists taking part in the auction this year are Bettina Norton from Thomastown, Paul Bokslag from Callan, Madeleine Carroll from Kilkenny city, and Sylvia Parkinson Brown and Carolyn Alexander from Piltown.

Some of the famous national and international faces taking part this year are U2’s The Edge, rock star Bob Geldof, fashion designer Paul Costelloe, comedians Jason Byrne and Tommy Tiernan, artist Don Conroy and Nobel prize winner Dr William Campbell.

Curator Lucinda Hall said Incognito 2021 is an opportunity to bring the talents of Kilkenny artists to a brand-new audience.

“We are so very grateful to each of our artists from Kilkenny who have shared their talents with us and given their art for free,” said Ms Hall.

“It is a huge tribute to their generosity of time and spirit following what has been an extremely difficult period for the arts world. We hope that by hosting what is Ireland’s largest online public art exhibition, that we can shine a light on the amazing talent of our artists, and introduce a whole new audience to their work.”

Carmel Doyle, CEO of the Jack & Jill Children’s Foundation, added: “Each year, Jack & Jill has to raise over €4 million to continue doing what we do supporting families to look after their sick children at home, where they belong. Less than 20 per cent of our funding comes from Government, and with Covid-19-19 continuing to restrict our public-facing fundraising and our charity shops still closed, including our shop on Friar Street in Kilkenny, we are relying hugely on the generosity and support of the public for Incognito 2021.

“Each piece sold translates into almost four hours of specialist home nursing care for local children, turning this beautiful art into a real currency for care.”