DONATIONS have been flying in after an art gallery in Basingstoke called on residents to send in sunflower themed work to help provide vital support to fleeing refugees.

Curators who run THAT Gallery, which is just about to reopen in Festival Place, are organising a pop-up shop with a very special twist.

Rachel Davis, just one of the curators of the gallery, has called on residents to make anything creative using the theme of sunflowers, which is known as the national flower of Ukraine.

SEE MORE: 'A symbol of hope': Gallery runs sunflower-themed shop to help fleeing refugees

Many residents have already donated items including a mini collection of canvases donated by Westside Community Art Group and a whole host of other items.

Basingstoke Gazette:

She previously said: “I just felt very strongly that the creative community, the local creative community, needed to get together and do something. There are lots of things that are happening nationwide and globally in the wider community but I thought we needed to do something here and the timing of use reopening the gallery got me thinking.”

Rachel said she did not feel it would be right to hold a regular reopening of the gallery, after it shut in December last year.

She added: “It just would not sit right in light of what’s going on, so I wanted to use the fact that we are reopening as an opportunity. Anyone is invited to take part from other retailers in Festival Place, other art groups and just anyone who feels they can paint, draw, sew or knit something with a sunflower theme that they can then donate to be auctioned.”

Rachel hopes the sunflower theme will be a sign of hope and is grateful for the items donated so far.

Basingstoke Gazette:

She continued: “They are the largest sunflowers growers in the world and a lot of our sunflower oil comes from Ukraine so it is just a nice symbolism of it being their national flower.

“I think sunflowers anyway are many people's favourite flowers and they just represent cheerfulness and that’s lacking in the world right now. I think they will also look very impactful when they are all displayed together.

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“It really is just all about getting the community behind this and lot of people have been donating practical things but actually it might be a nice way of the community coming together to do something to help other people.”

Money raised from the sale of the art will be donated to help Ukrainian refugees.

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