Angel of the North sculptor adds piece to help save Diss art hub, designermakers21

A piece by a renowend sculptor – famous for the Angel of the North – has joined other lots at a Diss auction to help a charity buy its artistic spiritual home.

Sir Antony Gromley has donated a piece to a sale at TW Gaze’s Diss auction rooms on July 6.

The auction has been organised to raise money for designermakers21 as its attempts to raise £350,000 to buy its St Nicholas Street studio from its landlord.

Other auction lots include an original oil painting by acclaimed artist Zheni Maslarova Warner, a limited edition lithograph from ‘La Poesie’ by Henry Moore and experiences like a visit to children’s TV favourite Button Moon and afternoon tea with Mr Spoon.

Janine Oxley, chairman of designermakersCIO, the charity arm of the craft hub, said: “We are delighted that so many supporters have come forward with such wonderful donations for the auction.

“There is a really impressive range of items, including works of art, literature, gastronomy, workshops and experiences, making this an unmissable event.”

The charity, set up in 2016, promotes, improves and advances education in and appreciation of traditional and contemporary craft for those in East Anglia and beyond.

The charity jumped into action to raise the money to purchase its Victorian home after its landlord announced the building was set to be sold in early 2024.

Since then its Save Our Story fund-raising events have been taking place, with supporters far and wide lending their support to the cause.

Marco Rayment, a trustee of designermakersCIO, said they had reached £250,000 of their target, with more grant applications pending and fundraising events coming up.

He added: “We are very pleased with the amount we have raised so far. We consider ourselves in a good place to achieve our target of £350,000 by the end of the year.

“The feedback we are getting is super positive and, as the number of people supporting us has grown, so has our optimism. All in all, we feel that, if we can keep this momentum going, we must surely succeed.

“We would like to thank all those who support us; our vice patrons, our friends of designermakersCIO, those who have given their time and energy to run and help with fundraising events, those who have donated to the campaign, the grant making trusts who are confident in us by awarding us grants and all the people from Diss and further afield, who support designermakersCIO – we thank them all for believing in what we do.”

Tickets for the auction are £5 and can be bought at designermakers21, Thursdays to Saturdays, or at the event (subject to availability).