How a group of artists are trying to help the Ukraine crisis

Taking direct action this weekend to help support the country is the Auto Artists for Ukraine. A charitable endeavour mobilising the exceptional talents of automotive artists and the racing community to create an art sale that directly feeds into the Red Cross. It’s here that we meet Reverend Adam Gompertz, one of the kind and inspired brains behind the idea.

“Myself and a fellow artist, Jonny Ambrose, who is a world-renowned sculptor, had a long phone conversation and we were talking about what we were all seeing on the news. We were asking what we could do. We both kind of came to the conclusion that the one thing we can do is colouring in. So we thought we might as well do something with it.”

For those of you who know Adam, he can do much more than ‘colouring in’ as he modestly puts it. A regular of Goodwood events, and an ex-Rolls-Royce designer, we’ve spent countless hours mesmerised watching over his shoulder while he brings automotive beauty to life with his free-hand sketches.

“We're fortunate that we both know quite a few members of the car art community. So we started reaching out to them and asking if they would consider donating a piece of work to the cause. A hundred per cent of what we sell the art for goes directly to the Red Cross and the Disasters Emergency Commission.

“So many artists have come forward to be part of it. And then so many people have bought art. It's just been incredible. The response has been utterly amazing. I think we're nearly at £40,000 since we began the initiative four and a half weeks ago.”

It’s an impressive number, and a hugely positive story which is well worth celebrating, but Adam remains realistic about the scale of humanitarian issues that continue to bubble and simmer around the world.

“We recognise that there's conflict and suffering in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen. I mean, you name it. There are places all over the world. And I think we mustn't forget those places and people. We mustn't just have the mindset that it's only happening in Ukraine. But of course Ukraine is the one that is under intense pressure at the moment, creating a really pressing need. So that was the one that we decided to focus on.”

With up to one hundred artists contributing drawings, paintings and sculpture, AAFU is a growing community and one where Adam remains amazed at the individual stories of emotional connection he continues to discover.

“I've got friends in Ukraine. I've got friends in Poland, as well. I’m finding that a lot of people here have some kind of affiliation to the country. We sold a piece of artwork to a gentleman yesterday and he turned to me as we were making the donation, and he just said to me sombrely 'I used to live in Ukraine'. It was quite a powerful moment.

“It doesn't matter what you do, whether you sell art, whether you have a bake sale, whether you sell the Ukraine flag stickers for the back of the cars on track here. Everybody can do something to help and that's really positive.

“The challenge with something like this is that you always get this massive rush of attention initially, and then quite naturally, the news cycle turns to other things. But I think what's going on, and the horrific nature of what's been going on, means that Ukraine will be recovering from this for years and years to come.”

With that troubling legacy in mind, Adam and Jonny, along with their generous community of artists are motivated to keep growing AAFU at events and on social media for the foreseeable future. To support their creativity and generosity, we urge you all to follow @auto_artists_for_ukraine on Instagram. There you can find the artists' work and buy directly before the money is passed on to the Red Cross. Slava Ukraini.