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incognito

You could end up buying art worth thousands of euro for just €50

The challenge is in spotting the masterpiece.

Jack&JillIncognitoArtLaunch07 Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography / Fennell Photography

BEAUTY IS IN the eye of the beholder – so how good are you at spotting beauty?

As part of the Jack and Jill’s fundraising project Incognito, over 1,000 artists from around the world have donated over 1,500 original miniature are pieces – selling for just €50 each.

The catch? You don’t know which of the pieces have been painted by the 50 well-known artists that make it worth thousands of euro. The identities will only be released after the sale (it’s written on the back of them).

So it’s a bit of a gamble; but all for a good cause.  Jack & Jill raises money and provide support for children with severe development delay as a result of brain damage.

It is hoped that Incognito will raise €75,000 to fund home nursing care for the 300 children helped by Jack & Jill through home nurses and other supports.

The pieces will be on sale on a first come first served basis for €50 each in The Solomon Gallery, Dublin from 21 to 25 April; the collection is available to view here.

Controversial creatures

Jack and Jill pig Jack and Jill Foundation Jack and Jill Foundation

The campaign is the latest in Jack & Jill’s series of public art projects, including painted sculptures of hares, pigs, eggs and cows that went up for auction around Dublin city centre.

Those projects brought some criticisms – the pig sculpture above raised heckles of animal cruelty – but the main gripe was that the art collections were out of reach of the ordinary person.

The 25 hares that went on sale last year as part of the Hares of March project gathered €63,450, with one hare going for €8,500.

This year, the charity decided to switch gears with an art project that’s affordable for everyone.

“People often talk about affordable art,” says Hugo Jellett, CEO of Jack & Jill. “…and the price tag is still in the late hundreds, so it really is a joy to be able to present original works at a fixed price of just €50, and once you conceal the identity of the artist, it becomes simply about whether you like it or not.”

Who are the artists

Jack&JillIncognitoArtLaunch06 Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography / Fennell Photography

Hugo Jellett says they’ve been overwhelmed by the number of artists donating to the project.

Stepping back, looking at the fruits of their labour, free labour, the standard of work is simply silencing.

Some of the artists include: Peter Curling, David Crone, Olivia Golden, Leah Hewson, Brian Lalor, Alice Maher, Barry McCall, Abigail O’Brien, Eilis O’Connell, Mick O’Dea, Patrick O’Reilly, Geraldine O’Reilly, Jim Savage, Gwen Wilkinson, Mo Kelly and Martin Gale.

“Incognito is another example of people reaching out to help others and our home nursing care service, which is delivered in every community in Ireland, is based around that principle of community helping community, providing a gift of time to families to give them a break from the 24 hour job of caring for their sick child.”

Jack & Jill’s home nurses have been caring for and giving respite service to sick children from birth to four years of age. The service operates 365 days a year and has no waiting – 2017 marks Jack & Jill’s 20th anniversary year.

They aim to raise €3.5 million every year to keep going and this is one of many fundraisers throughout the year, and say that with every €16 raised through funding, one hour of home nursing care is provided.

Visit www.incognito.ie for more.

Read: It’s your last chance to snap up one of these hares

Read: People are complaining about this pig who’s just trying to raise money for children

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