Postcard Art Exhibit

TAE23, curated by Kelly Kitson, was our 13th event! TAE23 visited the beautiful city of Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Our beneficiary was Urban Native Youth Association located just outside of downtown Vancouver. The Exhibition & Sale was on June 24-25, 2023 at the Pipe Shop Venue at the Shipyards in North Vancouver.

UNYA's GOAL: UNYA has a philanthropic goal of $6 million to build the Native Youth Centre.

REALIZING THEIR VISION: The Native Youth Centre is opening doors not only for Indigenous youth, but for the whole community. This project presents an exciting opportunity for us all to take meaningful steps on the path to reconciliation. Every contribution we receive will help us create a community of caring in support of Indigenous youth.

THEIR AIM: UNYA sees 26,000 youth visits annually. They have played a transformational role in the lives of many Indigenous youth in Vancouver, but there is so much more they wish to do. By increasing the capacity through the Native Youth Centre, they expect to double the number of Indigenous youth they are able to serve.

TAE23 is proud to have raised $17,262 CAD for UNYA!

Encephalitis is a virus that attacks the brain and it is a thief. It robs many of their loved ones and individuals of parts of their lives and futures. It strikes indiscriminately and devastates everywhere it hits and is much more common than most realise and often misdiagnosed with fatal consequences. The Encephalitis Society reaches out globally to help people rebuild their lives - all from the office in Yorkshire!

The Encephalitis Society has a vision to increase the global awareness of encephalitis and the support that is available.

Their objectives by 2027 are:
Annually increase their income by 10% reaching £1.4 million from a diverse range of sustainable and ethical sources

● Have 50% of the general population aware of encephalitis in 10 countries

● To be meeting the individual needs of 80,000 people through our support services

● To fund four internationally based research studies

● To be the go-to organisation for over 100,000 professionals worldwide.

Our TAE22 exhibition took place at the Hiscox Building located just outside York in Malton. Our participating artists contributed in raising a grand total of £21,100 to benefit Encephalitis Society.

The Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund (LINC) is a local charity that supports patients and families fighting blood cancer. LINC tries to be their lifeline by offering emotional support, relief by providing financial grants, comfort by funding extras for the isolation side rooms and breakthroughs by funding research into potential new treatments.

They can only be all of these things for patients and families if people choose to be the LINC too. Despite the reduced charitable fundraising opportunities during lockdown, LINC has continued to be there for their patients. Proceeds from #TAE21 enabled LINC to fund the posts of two clinical psychologists who work to help patients cope with a cancer diagnosis as well as the added complications and fear of COVID. It is people like you who make this possible.

Every purchase of a postcard painting directly funded a session with a LINC clinical psychologist whose posts are entirely funded by the charity and reliant on the generosity of their donors. The support they provide is vital from initial diagnosis, through the grueling chemotherapy and months in isolation to facing life after treatment. The fantastic total of £21,384 in funds raised by TAE will make such a considerable difference.

Horry County Disabilities and Special Needs located in the Myrtle Beach/Conway area of South Carolina is dedicated to providing services and supports to individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, Autism, and Head and Spinal Cord Injuries all the while ensuring the person is at the center of services delivery. Their philosophy of person-centeredness is aimed at helping individuals with disabilities to become the very best version of themselves. This is accomplished through vocational training, community employment, day services, advocacy, social and recreational opportunities, community involvement and unleashing their creative spirit and passion through art. The art program is designed to promote self-expression, social interaction and the development of peer relationships through various art classes. ​ Proceeds from #TAE20 enabled Horry County Disabilities and Special Needs to develop and extend the art program to offer additional art classes as well as enhance the individual’s opportunity to also engage in state-wide community art exhibitions.

Art in Healthcare works closely with a broad cross-section of healthcare providers in hospitals, GP surgeries, community care groups, hospices, healthcare centers and other bodies involved in the provision of healthcare to run a series of carefully tailored art workshops throughout the year. The program of art workshops which is led by professional artists and aided by volunteers has grown steadily since 2011 enabling Art in Healthcare to reach a broader cross-section of patient groups. In addition, the charity has a large collection of contemporary artwork which is displayed in healthcare premises across Scotland. Funds raised by #TAE19 enabled Art in Healthcare to develop and extend its workshop program to benefit more people within the healthcare system. All Art In Healthcare’s workshops bring the power of creativity to people in times of need whether in a hospital, care home, community health center, hospice or any other health care setting. The exhibition ran from May 11th through May 12th, 2019 including online exhibition with a total of 900 entries.

The 2018 charity provides horse facilitated therapy programs and activities for people living with a disability. Their vision is a world that sees the ability in people with a disability and they are the only Riding for the Disabled Centre in the Canberra region. Pegasus ACT provides over 2000 sessions a year to more than 100 people living with a disability. They provide mounted (riding) and unmounted programs, Hippotherapy (physiotherapy on horseback), school holiday, garden and early intervention goal-based programs – all according to ability and need. Programs are developed in collaboration with qualified coaches, therapists and families. The exhibition ran from April 5th through April 29th, 2018 and received a total of 700 entries.

The 2017 charity supports children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses and their families to help with their emotional well being. This is done in various ways. They grant ‘wishes’ to the value of approximately £500, which can be for therapeutic equipment to aid both physical and emotional well being or can be a day out for the family to spend some much-needed quality time together. The exhibition ran from April 1st through April 19th, 2017 and received a total of 1000 entries.

The 2016 charity supported by TAE was Foster Pride’s “Handmade” Program, in which young women in foster care learn to create and market a unique line of handmade goods. Close to 1000 cards were sent in by artists from 35 countries around the world. The exhibition ran from March 31 – April 21 in the Trygve Lie Gallery, 317, East 52nd St, New York.

In 2015, Twitter Art Exhibit: Moss benefited Home-Start Moss, a nonprofit organization helping families in need. Home-Start believes that every child deserves the best start in life. By matching experienced volunteers to families with young children, Home-Start provides the support that is free to the family, confidential, and based on individual needs. Volunteers do not make judgments or tell the parents how to live their lives; instead, they try to encourage confidence and independence and help families build their own networks of friends and other support. The Moss exhibition ran from March 12th through March 26th, 2015 and received a total of 620 entries.

The CCD’s Special Needs classes serve students with Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and cerebral palsy, including those requiring the use of a wheelchair. The Orlando exhibition ran from March 20 to April 11, 2014, raising $7,050 for the Center for Contemporary Dance’s Special Needs Classes. These funds (100% of the proceeds) allowed 11 students to receive dance instruction for a full year, free of charge. All classes are conducted in accordance with the National Standards for Dance Education and include customized exercises that expand the student’s range of motion, creativity, and social skills. Classwork is further designed to enhance skills in memorization, problem-solving and communication.

Art Division is a nonprofit organization that mentors underprivileged young adults (18-24) in the densely populated Rampart district of Los Angeles in preparation for careers in the visual arts. The L.A. show marked the launch of the Twitter Art Exhibit concept on the international stage, and ran from January 12 to February 10, 2013, attracting 502 artists from 35 countries who sent 726 entries, raising $7,000 for Art Division (100% of the proceeds). Art Division is constantly evolving to provide mentoring, tutoring, and professional arts training to its students whom, without these services, are likely to fall through the cracks of L.A.’s educational system, preventing them from pursuing a college education or developing their incredible innate artistic talent. Funds raised from the exhibition went to help build a new library and painting studio, providing a safe environment where these young artists can study, be mentored, and attend lectures by professional art educators.

The Women’s Crisis Center in Moss, Norway is a resource where abused women and children can get help. The center also provides a 24-hour phone-service, counseling, food, and shelter. At the time of the exhibit, they had lost a lot of funding and the staff had been cut from 19 to 11. This is a very important cause, not only for the women in a crisis situation but also for their children. The exhibit ran in May of 2012 and was another success! Together with 360 artists from 32 countries, we helped raise $4,000 USD (24,000 NOK). 100% of the proceeds went to the shelter.

The first TAE exhibit was announced on October 21, 2010, and was organized to help the Moss public library raise funds for children’s books. 260 twitter artists from 24 countries participated and David’s kitchen was flooded with art! The event went national and garnered local recognition in Norwegian media (TV, radio and newspapers). 100% of the proceeds went directly to the charity, and with the funds raised, they were able to purchase 221 new children’s books.