Case Study: Ash To Art

The concept

The idea was to send charcoal from the fire to 25 world-famous artists and ask them to use it to create a new piece of art that could be auctioned to help rebuild the School. For Hartley and Hepworth it made perfect sense: "It seemed a good way of harnessing the grief and talent of the art world to raise money and publicity."

The Glasgow School of Art's Director of Development, Alan Horn, agreed. The only problem was that at that very moment, the burned timber from the gutted building was being thrown into skips for disposal. Thankfully they were in time to rescue enough to begin their project.

The execution

JWT sprang into action, creating a team which included Lynsey Houston and Jonah Werth alongside Hepworth and Hartley, later to be joined by Kate Duncan and Sophia Redgrave. However, with no client as such, there was no budget, so this project would rely on goodwill, and securing press coverage to achieve its ambitious awareness and funding goals.

The artists themselves were carefully selected to create a diverse body of artwork, encompassing every discipline from painting to printmaking, from ceramics to sculpture. Reaching creatives outside of London's art bubble, however, would prove a challenge, "Once we had been given the green light, we soon realised that the art world is impenetrable to outsiders." Say Hepworth and Hartley , "We needed something to cut through the gallerists and gatekeepers who guard their artists with ruthless efficiency. "

So the solution the team arrived at was to send the chosen artists a box containing a fragment of charcoal from the building. Each piece was given powerful meaning and context by a label identifying it as ‘Bookcase. Charles Rennie Mackintosh. C. 1909'. One artist, a GSoA alumni, said, "it was like receiving the ashes of a dear friend".

JWT Producer Jonah Werth then followed up with what Hepworth and Hartley describe as "a potent combination of boyish charm and terrier-like tenacity." The first artist to come on board was Anthony Gormley. Still, this was a long process, and it took two and a half years until the art had been created, and an auction date was set.

Nevertheless, the project clearly resonated, this list of contributors who agreed to create work was a who's who of British artists, including: Jake & Dinos Chapman, Jim Lambie, Nathan Coley, Martin Boyce, Ishbel Myerscough, Chantal Joffe, Jenny Saville, Sir Antony Gormley, Grayson Perry, David Shrigley, Joseph Kosuth, Simon Starling, Paula Rego, Anish Kapoor, Idris Khan, Tacita Dean, Alison Watt, Cornelia Parker, Rachel Whiteread, Miroslaw Balka, Douglas Gordon, Julie Mehretu, Richard Long, Conrad Shawcross and Sir Peter Blake.

The artists were clearly enthused by the idea: Grayson Perry said "I really liked the idea of using charcoal from the fire. I thought it was very clever and very fresh. It's not something that's come up before", while Alison Watt said "I cried when I heard about the fire. The idea of creating something from the wreckage resonated with me. It was a powerful experience receiving the piece [charcoal], and almost immediately I knew I wanted to make it part of the very substance of a painting."

JWT's Axel Chaldecott used his connections to secure the auction venue – Christie's of London, one of the world's most prestigious auction houses. Galleries including the Gagosian, The Victoria and Miro and the White Cube all lent their support by spreading the message of the auction. Under the guidance of Head of Art, Dave Dye, a logo, posters and a website were all created to showcase the project and promote the auction. An animation, created by Sharon Lui using charcoal salvaged from the fire, was crafted, telling the story of the campaign.

The response

As the auction date drew near, over 10,000 people poured into Christie's to see the works on display. Press coverage was ubiquitous, including key titles for reach such as the BBC, the Guardian, and The Sunday Times. Articles in influential industry titles such as ID, Dazed and Vanity Fair also helped attain a powerful audience. The media coverage reached, all in all, 42% of the UK population.

The auction itself was a global affair, with bids from 28 countries coming in. On the day of the deadline the final piece of art, Jenny Saville's, was delivered. It sold for over £220,000. For the creative team, the auction was tense, "Watching the artwork go under the hammer and realising the project would be judged on its sales total made for a truly nail-biting experience."

The impact

In total, the 21 pieces fetched £706,438. A massive achievement for artworks created from burned out wood.

The project also caught the attention of the D&AD Judges, winning Wood Pencils in Experiential and Direct, and a Graphite and Yellow Pencil in Creativity for Good. Hepworth and Hartley consider winning the Pencils, "one of the pinnacles of our careers as a creative team", continuing, "Although the project had a greater purpose than winning awards, it was gratifying to know that some of the best creatives in our industry recognised it as a good idea."

Although Ash to Art is perhaps best summarised by contributor Tacita Dean, who eloquently explains the power of the idea: "It's a great idea to use the charcoal of a burnt art school as a drawing material to make art and fund the rebuilding. Charcoal represents a rite of passage from school to art school. It's a perfect cycle, the phoenix rising from the ashes".