Artists Put Mercy Into Action With Forthcoming Show
Joanne Diongzon of Bath 'HQ' based charity Mercy In Action - which offers food, education and rescue to some of the poorest children in the Philippines is holding a 'hope and or poverty' themed artshow next month. Taking place at the Paintworks in Bristol, the show features works by Chinwe Roy whose portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, was commissioned to mark Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee. (PICTURES: ARTIST CAROL PEACE'S 'THE CONVERSATION', THE EXHIBITION'S FLYER)
This show will help children who otherwise would face stark survival on the streets..
What inspired Mercy In Action to organise this event?
It was a first-time visit to the Paintworks in Bristol and its creativity that started to get me thinking...Having moved to Bath a year before I had begun to become aware of just how many amazingly talented artists there are in the area. Hearing the story of William Hogarth and the many other leading artists of the day who joined him in donating works to help support the first children's Foundling hospital in London and thus creating Britain's first public exhibition space led me to believe 
that the artists of today are able to make a difference through their gifts and talents.
But it wasn’t until Mercy in Action lost its drop-in centre for street children in the Philippines and the sudden need for funds to be able to find a new, more permanent solution that the idea of an art exhibition as a fundraising event came to mind. It didn’t take too long to think of a theme, as working for Mercy in Action is very inspiring in itself, and using a theme that is so closely linked to the heart of a charity that brings hope to communities and individuals who are crippled by poverty seemed perfect!
The common theme for all of the artwork featured is Hope and/or Poverty. It is completely free to visit the exhibition and the exhibition is open for public viewing from the Wednesday 15th to Saturday 18th Feb between 10am and 7pm.
There are a number of art workshops that are running from Tuesday to Friday for which there is a small participation fee of £5 per child, or just £3.50 per child when booked in advance.
There is also a fashion photo shoot taking place on the Saturday which costs £50 per person – the proceeds from all of these exhibitions are being donated to Mercy in Action.
How did you choose which artists to feature in your show?
We actually held an open call for artists from all over the world to submit artwork as we were interested to discover the different interpretations we might receive on the theme of Hope and Poverty. We were delighted to find that this is a theme that is close to many artist’s hearts.
We were really taken back by the overwhelming response and support that we received from many local artists and we were thrilled to receive five pieces of work from Chinwe Roy whose portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, commissioned to mark Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee, was unveiled to widespread critical acclaim in 2002.
What do you hope to achieve with this show?
We are hoping that the exhibition will inspire, provoke and create awareness of the crippling effects of poverty and the change that hope can bring, whilst raising money that will be used to rescue and bring hope to those trapped in lives of poverty in the Philippines
How can people help Mercy In Action?
There are a number of ways that people can get involved with Mercy in Action; from volunteering in one of our charity shops to fundraising or even becoming a Global Volunteer and working on our projects in the Philippines.
We are always looking for people to volunteer with our work, particularly for our warehouse, charity shops and office.What are Mercy In Action's hopes and dreams?
Our dreams would be able to buy a building or some land that we could build a night shelter and drop-in centre for the street children we work with, we would also love to be able to buy a plot of land in the mountain area of Cebu where we would build a farm that could be used for rehab, vocational training and farming.
One of the projects that we do plan to complete this year is our children’s centre which is already home to six young girls.