St George’s Bristol to auction unique collection of postcard artwork to music fans

Independent Park Street music venue and charity St George’s Bristol will be holding a special auction of unique postcard artwork this September. Titled Sonic Postcards, the auction features over 40 completely unique, hand-crafted postcards as individual lots which anybody can bid on. The postcards have been penned and illustrated by a roll-call of artists, speakers and musicians who’ve performed at St George’s over the years – with names including the Kanneh-Masons, Hollie McNish, Sir Michael Palin, Sir Tony Robinson, and many more. This is a once-only opportunity for the winning bidders to take home a slice of the magic that takes place on the St George’s stage.

The Sonic Postcards include paintings, drawings, poems, personal messages, music manuscript, and cartoons, and are all signed by the artists who created them. The starting price for each Sonic Postcard is £40, meaning some lucky bidders may walk away with a bargain piece of unique art or memorabilia; meanwhile, others may have to compete to take home a creation from their favourite artist.

The full list of artists who’ve contributed a postcard to the Sonic Postcards auction is:

Tony Ann; Matthew Barley; Ian Belton (Brodsky Quartet); Jon Boden; Bernard Butler, Norman Blake and James Grant; Paul Cassidy (Brodsky Quartet); Bojan Čičić; Cosmos Choir; Neil Cowley; Gary Crosby; Laurence Cummings; the Danish National Vocal Ensemble; Satoko Doi Luck; Rory Grindlay; Charles Hazlewood; Sir Stephen Hough; I Fagiolini; Aminata Kanneh-Mason; Isata Kanneh-Mason; Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason; Mariatu Kanneh-Mason; Stuart Kanneh-Mason; Alex Lucas; Hollie McNish; Glenn Mower (Renewal Choir); Beth Nielsen Chapman; Craig Ogden; Mark Padmore; Sir Michael Palin; Helen Phillips (Renewal Choir); Maddy Prior; Liza Pulman and Joe Stilgoe; Sir Tony Robinson; Graham Ross; Simmy Singh (Manchester Collective); Andy Sheppard; Linton Stephens; Jacqueline Thomas (Brodsky Quartet).

Funds raised by the Sonic Postcards auction contribute to St George’s work with young musicians across Bristol and beyond, engaging over 4,000 children in musical and education projects across the city. It also helps safeguard and preserve St George’s historic venue, which is over two centuries old, meaning it can continue to present over 300 performances each year.

Image - Credit Evan Dawson

Verity Slater, Head of Development at St George’s, said “There’s already been an amazing response to the Sonic Postcards project amongst our diverse, eclectic and brilliant artistic community. This is a one-off opportunity for our audiences across Bristol and beyond to bid on these fantastic postcard artworks; the lucky bidders will take home a unique artwork for their walls, while supporting the future of St George’s.”

Artist Alex Lucas said Sonic Postcards is "a beautiful and creative project, and for such an important cause. I’ve absolutely loved being involved".  Alex Lucas’s distinctive, immediately recognisable artworks feature on buildings and murals across Bristol – including on St George’s banners displayed on the venue’s iconic front portico.

The Sonic Postcards auction will take place online at 32auctions.com/sonicpostcards from Friday 12th September until Wednesday 24th September. Meanwhile, framed reproductions of a selection of the Sonic Postcards are now on display at St George’s Bristol for prospective bidders and passers-by to admire.

For a select few postcards, the bidding will then continue at a live auction as part of St George’s event Listen In, on the evening of Wednesday 24th September. Listen In is a once-only, specially created, immersive event. It features a never-to-be-repeated performance in the round from renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie in collaboration the Bristol Ensemble, followed by a delicious festival-style supper, other musical experiences in the St George’s venue and grounds, and the Sonic Postcards live auction. Listen In is held in support of St George’s Bristol, in partnership with Rathbones, and is produced in collaboration with Dame Evelyn Glennie.

The Sonic Postcards project is kindly supported by Niche Frames, Cass Art, and Bockingford - St Cuthberts Mill.

Listen In is delivered in partnership with Rathbones, with additional support from Stewart Wines.