Damien Hirst is partnering with the Milan-based Fondazione Prada to sell a limited number of new photographic prints in an effort to raise money for Save the Children’s efforts in Italy.
Proceeds from the sale, which is on through through Sunday, September 27, will go to “Rewrite the Future,” the charity’s campaign to support children and their families in Italy who have been affected by school closures in recent months.
The foundation is putting money towards providing schools with educational materials, technology, and books to distribute to children as a way to curb drop-out rates.
The Hirst prints are closely cropped details from his “Cherry Blossoms” series of paintings, which take inspiration from Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Georges Seurat.
The prints, titled Fruitful and Forever, are priced at €400 for a 15-cm-square print, and €1,200 for a 78-cm-square version.
“I wanted to find a way to raise money to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been most affected by school closures and the support they provide,” Hirst said in a statement.
Daniela Fatarella, CEO of Save the Children’s Italian arm, explained the cause in a press release: “There is a need to respond to the high risk of increasing child educational poverty and early school leaving, after the educational blackout that has affected so many students who have not been able to access distance learning in our country.”
Earlier this year, Hirst worked on a similar charity project titled “The Rainbow Editions,” in which he sold works to support the British National Health Service and the Felix Project, and organization that redistributes unused food to those in need.