The event, kindly sponsored by Irwin Mitchell, brought together our amazing supporters for a private viewing of the annual exhibition of the Society of Woman Artists. Guests had the opportunity to win donated works of art, purchase one-off pieces and show their support for the charity.
The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body and registered charity that has had a unique history dedicated to promoting art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in 1855.
Meningitis survivors art on display
During the event two meningitis survivors had their art on display – Matilda Sharpley and Liz Curry.
Matilda became deaf after contracting pneumococcal meningitis when she was a baby. She is currently undertaking a Fine Arts degree at the University for Creative Arts Farnham. Matilda exhibited a video during the event, which can be viewed here. (Content warning for images of hands being bound.) Matilda’s hope for her art is for people who feel their lives are limited in some form to be persuaded to look for positive ways to break free.
Liz contracted meningitis in 2010 and is now a quadruple amputee. She draws on her iPad and was supported by Meningitis Now to access counselling and find an art teacher who could support her needs. She exhibited three pieces at our event. At a drawing class focused on pencils and pastels, Liz created the fantastic drawings below – holding the pencils and pastels in what remains of her thumb and forefinger on her left hand. You can view an example of Liz's artwork below:
Exciting auction
During the event guests heard from our CEO Dr Tom Nutt, President of the Society of Women Artists, Helen Sinclair and Erin and Charlotte – two people who are living with the impact of meningitis. Guests could also explore the 450+ pieces of art featured in the Society of Women Artists 163rd Annual Exhibition while enjoying drinks, canapés and a beautiful performance of harpist Les Magee.
Meningitis Now Trustee, Randy Weeks, led an exciting live auction of pieces that had been donated with 100% of the auction proceeds going to Meningitis Now.
Additionally, a raffle was drawn by Rachel Parker, Vice President of the Society of Women Artists. Rachel’s daughter survived meningitis as a baby and last year Rachel and her family took on the Richmond Air 10K to raise £5,000 for Meningitis Now.
The Society of Women Artists also donated packs of their playing cards for guests to take home as a keepsake, in exchange for a suggested donation of £15.
Erin’s experience
Erin, one of the young speakers at the event, who had bacterial meningitis at age eight recounts the evening below.
“The evening consisted of a Q&A style discussion with me and Charlotte, another young person impacted by meningitis, an auction of art from female artists, a raffle, and the opportunity to be surrounded by and socialise with other people impacted by meningitis.
“When I was first asked to speak at the event, I wasn’t sure if it was something I could do. I asked a lot of questions about how many people would be there and the topics that I would be discussing.
“I thought about the opportunity and then agreed, as I wanted to do something to help other people and I wanted to develop my confidence which, for me, happens when I do something that is sightly out of my comfort zone.
Settled quickly
“Speaking in public was nerve-wracking for me to start with, but I settled quickly and started to enjoy the experience the more that the discussion went on. It was nice to be able to talk openly about my experience of meningitis, discuss the after-effects that are present for me, most of which are ‘hidden’ or ‘invisible’ (meaning that unless I tell someone, they are usually unlikely to notice any difference between me and someone that has no after-effects/disabilities).
“I was also able to talk about the help that I have received from Meningitis Now and the ways that the support from Meningitis Now has helped me. For me, the fact that I spoke in public is testament to how the support of Meningitis Now and the Believe & Achieve programme have enabled me to develop my confidence and try new things.
Sense of enjoyment
“After I had finished speaking, I felt a wave of relief and accomplishment. Although part of me was relieved that it was over, most of the emotion that I felt was positive and I had a sense of enjoyment from public speaking. People at the event spoke to me about how they enjoyed listening to what I said and told me that I did well. I was also able to speak to other young people about their experiences of meningitis and the after-effects such as fatigue that they live with as a result.
“I find that sharing my experience is important because it allows me to talk about the reality of my meningitis experience, but I am also able to share about the achievements that I have made.
Help someone else
“I hope that through sharing my experiences, I can help someone else to feel less alone, to know what support is available, and to feel hopeful about their future. I think that it is important that people are aware of disabilities regardless of whether they are visible or hidden. It allows people to have improved awareness and a better understanding of disabilities and how people may be following a meningitis experience.
“However, I always try to make sure that I find a balance between discussing the after-effects that I face and discussing how I manage my after-effects and hidden disabilities to live as well as I can.”
Erin is part of our Believe & Achieve programme. Believe & Achieve aims to help young people who have been affected by meningitis achieve their goals. You can find more information on Believe & Achieve here.
Thank you to all those who made this event possible:
- Thanks to long-term supporters Irwin Mitchell for sponsoring the event
- Thanks to the Society of Women Artists for giving us the opportunity to host this event during their 163rd Annual exhibition, and for kindly offering 10% of art sales on the night of our event.
- Thanks to Helen Sinclair and Rachel Parker for their support in organising this event
- Thanks to our Trustee Randy Weeks for being our Auctioneer at the event
- Thanks to the artists who donated pieces for the auction – including Rachel Arif, Carol Hill, Roya Khalili, Rachel Parker, Diane Urwin, Linda Travers Smith
- Thanks to the artists and companies that donated raffle prizes including: Irwin Mitchell, Adlington Ltd, Fays Flowers, Cook Cirencester, Diane Urwin, Dani Humberstone
- Thanks to Fays Flowers for their donation of a raffle prize and bouquets for the young people who shared their stories on the night
- Thanks to Matilda and Liz for exhibiting fantastic artwork on the night
- Thanks to our volunteer photographers, Anne and Lorraine, who captured the night in pictures
- And thanks to Erin and Charlotte for bravely speaking about their experience.
You can view some pictures of the event below!
