SEPT 29, 2021
We celebrated The Big Issues 30th Birthday last week with JEALOUS Gallery in Shoreditch, London, providing brownies for a viewing of The Connor Brothers Latest Collection, 'This is Britain'.
Contemporary art gallery JEALOUS held a fundraising event with artist duo The Connor Brothers, who created a limited-edition set of works, including their latest pigment print to raise money for The Big Issue. DG Brownies sponsored the event, offering brownies in canape fashion to the guests.
Established in 1991, The Big Issue magazine aimed to eradicate homelessness by offering rough sleepers entrepreneurship opportunities and advice through selling the magazine. The Big Issue is a Hand Up, Not a Handout.
The Big Issue social enterprise scheme has supported 92,000 vendors in the last thirty years, increasingly important as the pandemic has increased homelessness in the UK. It is estimated that 130,000 households have been made homeless since the beginning of March 2020. The 30th Anniversary of The Big Issue has seen the launch of the latest campaign, fighting homelessness in the coming months as furlough in the UK ends at the end of September. The end of governmental financial support directly increases the risk of mass homelessness, which can be prevented by raising awareness of causes such as The Big Issue.
To celebrate The Big Issues 30th Birthday, The Connor Brothers created a limited edition collection called ‘This is Britain’. Seventy-five editions of the print are being auctioned at Bonhams on the 22nd of September. All proceeds are going to The Big Issue to reinvest in the enterprise scheme, with the fundraising goal of £200,000. The Connor Brothers artwork is famous for depicting pin-up models in tandem with distinct, ‘pithy’ text. Playing with the boundary between fantasy and reality, the Connor Brothers actually posed as twins for the first 18 months of their career, before revealing their identities as British art dealers James Golding and Mike Snelle.
DG Brownies were asked by JEALOUS to provide brownie canapes for the viewing event of ‘This is Britain’ prior to the auction.
Ayo Shonibare, Co-Founder of DG brownies really enjoyed the event:
“We were invited to the show, which was really cool. Daniek and I spoke to Sir John Bird, co-founder of The Big Issue who actually was homeless himself, which is where he got the idea from. It was great to speak with him and get involved with a cause that I feel passionately about.
I’ve been collecting art with Daniek for a number of years now. Scrolling through the internet and speaking to other private collectors I came across JEALOUS a few years ago. I bought a print from them, and Daniek also bought a print from them. When you buy a few things from a company like JEALOUS you get to know them quite well.
I was in the gallery and I was speaking to Amy (communications executive) and she informed me of The Big Issue’s 30th Birthday event and asked us if we would be interested in sponsoring the VIP event, by offering DG Brownie canapes. I was over the moon to be asked to support such a cool event. It was nice to bring together my personal interests in sharing delicious brownies whilst viewing extraordinary art.”
We were really grateful to have the opportunity of providing brownies for the event and of course, we would do it again”.
Support The Big Issue by purchasing a magazine for just £3. Find your local vendor here.
Written by Fiona Philp
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