Art Helps Heart Health
18 September 2013
Wellington art co-operative, ARTrove, is sponsoring a medical student this summer after raising more than $3,000 for the Surgical Research Trust at its 2013 exhibition opening night this month.
The artwork of 14 talented Wellington artists was for sale at the opening night fundraiser with a portion of each sale
going to the Trust.
The $3100 raised will form the new ARTrove Studentship and help a student at the Otago School of Medicine, Wellington to study ‘ECGs and clinical outcomes following acute
coronary syndromes’ this summer.
Through its sponsors, the Surgical Research Trust funds three or four studentships every summer in Wellington. The
ARTrove team joins other Wellington-based sponsors (phil’s, the Museum Art Hotel and Ideas Shop) in fostering young research talent in this way.
ARTrove was started in 2011 by three Wellington artists, Adele Eagleson, Karen Hamilton-Smith and Kirsty Fyfe, who are
all passionate about creativity and about sharing affordable art with the public.
Karen Hamilton-Smith said the group was delighted about sponsoring a medical student.
“It’s wonderful that we’re able to support vital research into heart conditions, which affect a huge percentage of our
population and touch many families. We love the fact that through people buying art, others in the future may benefit
from heart research.”
Trust chair Prof. Geoffrey Horne said the Trust was extremely grateful to ARTrove for using its opening night as a
fundraiser.
“In terms of value for money, studentships are fantastic as several thousand dollars goes a long way. Often the research
gets written up in international peer-reviewed journals and the young researchers go on to undertake further important
research.”
The Surgical Research Trust was set up in 1991 by Prof Horne (ONZM) to fund local and national surgical research and
since then has funded about 90 projects. The Summer Student Research Programme began in 1992.
The ARTrove 2013 exhibiting artists were Adele Eagleson, Amie McCarron, Anna Stichbury, Brian Nelson, Bruce Luxford,
Clare Matthews, Ian Hamlin, Karen Hamilton-Smith, Karina Rossiter, Kirsty Fyfe, Kylie Law, Maude Heath, Nicki Stewart
and Paul Vincent.
ENDS