Hudson

ANCHORED IN GLORY SOLD FOR £11,000 AT AUCTION

I’m sure most of you know already that last year's Friends of ANCHOR 20for20 anchor auction was a huge success, raising a £162,000 on the night with a grand total of £361,000 raised throughout the duration of the campaign – an unbelievable conclusion to a tremendous campaign that will have a long legacy for the charity and especially for cancer and haematology patients at the ANCHOR Unit, ARI.

AnchoRED in Glory was sold for £11,000 at the auction - the winning bidder was Duncan Skinner, Chief Executive of Aberdeen FC Community Trust, who then gifted the anchor to the Trust. The anchor is now located in its rightful home at Pittodrie in the Richard Donald Stand concourse.

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This year, Friends of ANCHOR charity is celebrating 20 years of providing support to cancer and haematology patients throughout the North-east of Scotland.

20 large anchor sculptures representing 20 years of support to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary will be on public display across Aberdeen, Grampian and Orkney and Shetland. 20 talented local artists as well as primary schools pupils from Ferryhill School have poured their creativity and emotion into each anchor. There truly is an anchor design for everyone.

It’s been fantastic to see all artists, sponsors and partners get so strongly behind this amazing cause - a cause which undoubtedly touches everyone’s lives at some point - and I’m extremely proud and privileged to see my anchor, titled 'AnchoRED in Glory', out on the voyage at Union Square (Outside Next).

I should add my special thanks to Balmoral Group, Graham Garden of Eurocell and Chris at Tayprint for generously donating artist materials and helping to create a unique, bold design for Aberdeen Football Club and Aberdeen FC Community Trust.

Also, a huge thanks to the Friends of ANCHOR fundraising team for making this whole campaign possible and for giving artists a platform to showcase their talents while raising much needed funds for such a tremendous cause.

All anchors will be on display until end of October.

Hope you enjoy as many anchors as you can and remember to share your photos on social media using the hashtag #20for20anchor.

If you can’t join the voyage but would like to support the campaign, you can donate online at www.friendsofanchor20for20.org or you can text ‘ANCH20 £5’ to 70070, to donate to the cause.

Artist bio

Ewen is a multimedia developer by trade but his passion for art and design keeps his eyes open to all things. He’s observant, genuine, and somewhat obsessive about his work.
A proud Dons fan and contributor to the charity since 1999, Ewen eagerly accepted the opportunity to get involved in the campaign and was one of the first artists selected to decorate an anchor on behalf of Aberdeen Football Club (AFC) and Aberdeen FC Community Trust (AFCCT). Ewen was also involved in the design of the original sculpture shape. He generously opted to donate his artist’s fee and auction bonus to the charity’s Dream Big campaign and give back to the charity which is ‘near and dear’ to him.

Inspiration

Ewen sees his design as a tribute to Aberdeen FC’s past and present glories both on and off the field, with particular acknowledgement of the achievements made by the Aberdeen FC Community Trust.
His strong geometric style is based on the theme of symmetry, which signifies relationship, harmony, balance and union - much akin to a family bond as well as the relationship between AFC/AFCCT and its staff, players and wide-ranging support network.

Autographed

In October, AnchoRED in Glory was kindly autographed by several Aberdeen FC first team players:

1 Joe Lewis
2 Shay logan
3 Graeme Shinnie
4 Andy Considine
9 Adam Rooney
11 Gary Mackay-Steven
18 Dominic Ball
22 Ryan Christie
48 Ryan Harrington
83 Stevie May