“Sometimes it's easy to walk by because we know we can't change someone's whole life in a single afternoon. But what we fail to realise is that simple kindness can go a long way toward encouraging someone who is stuck in a desolate place.”
―
A big thank you to everyone who supported our Affordable Art Sale and Auction during the May 24 AOH Festival.
We took the plunge and held our own open house, thanks to Cardinal Newman School for generously providing a venue. And we celebrated kindness, community and resilience.
Central to our kindness theme was work from local artist Tony Mills, who won AOH Artist of the Year 2024 for his '8 Miles Away' series featuring well-loved places in our city, inspired by a homeless person.
You can view and buy prints from A5 to A1 size from the artist's website, knowing that any profits go towards our work supporting young people experiencing homelessness.
Eight Miles Away Collection
Artist: Tony Mills
All images are printed on high quality Somerset Velvet archival paper with perfect colour reproduction ready for you to frame.
Artist Notes: The Story behind Eight Miles Away
An elderly man slept in the bus shelter opposite me for a year on the noisy seafront road. The traffic is so loud and the rain so cold here, I did not know how he made it through each day. I took time to talk with him – one human to another. I was deeply touched by his poise, calmness and resilience. I gave him the occasional hot meal and a little cash, but became consumed with wondering how to help at a completely different level.
So I did the only thing I knew how to: I painted his picture, knowing that I would direct any money that came from selling it into trying to get him off the street. (‘Eight Miles Away’ refers to the lights of the wind farm, eight miles out in the sea behind where he slept, which ironically generates warmth for over 400,000 homes.)
48 hours after finishing that first painting, a lady in Australia saw it online and bought it. (It reminded her of when unprompted her own son bought an aboriginal man a cold Coke in the incredible heat of their summer.) Then people all over the world started buying prints – New York City, Spain, Canada, Norway, to name a few.
That first painting succeeded in opening doors for the man, so I just kept painting. In the next 2 years, I completed 8 different paintings of my city. All feature a homeless person. The original paintings will all be auctioned and together with sales of every single print their funds will go directly to 8 homeless people here in the city. I have received expert advice on how any funds can best kickstart a new life. I cannot solve all homelessness, but maybe I can help one, good person at a time?
I am just a painter. If you like a painting, buy it. Every time you look at it, smile and know you really helped someone make a fresh start.