RAW Contemporary
Sponsorship, Blog and Shows
RAW Contemporary is a sister operation to RAW Modern focusing on 21st-century artists with a special focus on the LGBTQIA+ community and work that challenges preconceptions of heteronormative sexuality and the stigma that shapes sexual representations. Our £10,000 yearly sponsorship program aims to support an up-and-coming contemporary artist each year working to challenge the status quo. For this purpose, a selection panel with five judges (Maudji Mendel, Anna Sampson, Patricia Cronin, Sade English and Ananya Mukhopadhyay) consider applications every year to decide the winner of the prize. We run a monthly blog in which we interview artists, and work closely with museums and institutions (including the Barbican, The National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Carolee Schneemann Foundation) to highlight current shows and provide a platform for discussion and research into today’s topics. RAW Contemporary will be curating two shows in 2024 around the topics of sexuality and queer visibility, more to be announced soon.
Maudji, Curator:
Maudji is a freelance antique dealer and curator whose area of interest lies within questions around gender, sexuality and identity. They co-founded the RAW platform with Sacha Llewellyn, which subsequently gained charitable status. They now run the charity on a daily basis, and are expanding the artist sponsorship program as well as managing the art collection and international loans. They founded the antique jewellery dealership, Mendel’s Antique Jewellery in 2024.
Meet the Team
Artist Sponsorship
2024 SPONSORED ARTIST: Anna Sampson (b.1993) is an autodidactic, photographic artist who shoots and prints exclusively on film and polaroid. Anna’s work is heavily informed by intersectional feminism – specifically the intersection of gender and sexuality with race, class and the politics of the personal – and is further supported by academic inquiry. In this instance, she hopes that her recent postgraduate study of Gender & Sexuality at UCL will continue to inspire and inform her art (and vice versa) with the ultimate goal of working towards social justice for those who are marginalised and oppressed by the patriarchy. Thanks to the RAW £10,000 prize, she will release her much- anticipated debut photo-book, titled ‘Other ntimacies’, launching at The Hayward Gallery, The Standard, London & The Museum of Sex in NYC. This book will exhibit unseen and uncensored Erotic artworks that explore the themes of performance, queer intimacy and resistance – whilst prioritising the visibility of marginalised and stigmatised sexualities.
Blog
RAW runs a monthly blog in which we interview artists, and work closely with museums and institutions including the Barbican, The National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Carolee Schneemann Foundation to highlight current shows and provide a platform for discussion and research into today’s topics…
In the past 12 months we have run many well researched, radical and exciting series such as: “Bunnies, Dummies and Puppets: A Powerful Tool for Social Change” in which we highlighted work by Marie Vassilieff (1884-1957) and Hannah Höch (1889-1978), reviewed Tate Britain’s survey show ‘Happy Gas’ dedicated to Sarah Lucas (b.1962) and interviewed pioneering feminist artist Su Richardon (b.1947).
“Art & Domesticity” explored the intricate connection between art and domesticity, examining a range of artworks spanning from the second wave of feminism to those created by contemporary artists. We reviewed ‘Women in Revolt!’ which opened at Tate Britain, interviewed contemporary Colombian photographer Laura Ribero and highlighted works by Carrie Mae Weems (b.1953)
Another series “Three-Dimensional Works” highlighted work by Maria Martins (1894-1973) and Paule Vézelay (1892 – 1984). We also published an essay on Elsa Schiaparelli and Leonor Fini – ‘SHOCKING’ (1937) perfume bottle from the Raw Collection and interviewed contemporary gender-non-confirming artist Stef Van Looveren on their erotic and multi-media ‘wearable’ sculptures.
“Along with our curator Maudji, we hope to continue uplifting and supporting radical contemporary artists through our
sponsorship program and the RAW + blog. All of this is tied together by the single goal of giving visibility to censored,
marginalised and suppressed voices so that we can play a vital role, in shaping the way we consider our artistic heritage.”
(Interview with Sacha Llewellyn in 2023 about the RAW blog)
Donations
As a charity, RAW depends exclusively on donations to run our operations. These donations go directly towards paying our employees, independent writers and researchers as well as daily maintenance costs and our RAW contemporary prize that supports artists each year. Our estimated cost to continue our work each year is £150,000. Please note that the RAW collection, whilst on exclusive loan to the charity, does not use any donations.
£500-£1000 helps us with daily website maintenance and legal fees
£3,000 allows us to pay our writers and run our blog for 12 months
£15,000 allows us to support a writer in undertaking important research about a woman artist and have the material published by RAW
£20,000 allows us to rent a space and put on a show featuring works by artists who have applied for our sponsorship program
£30,000 allows us to run our prize and sponsorship program for one year
£50,000-60,000 allows us to pay our employees for one year
£150,000 allows us to run our charity inclusive of all costs for one year
Tax Effective Giving
Your donation can qualify for tax relief under Gift Aid as long as the donor is a UK taxpayer. This means that if you donate £10,000 to RAW, we can reclaim an extra £2,500 from the Inland Revenue. If you are a UK taxpayer and complete a Self Assessment or are a higher rate tax payer, you can also benefit: If you become a Lead Supporter and make a donation of £10,000 as a higher rate UK tax payer you could be entitled to claim up to £2,500 from the Inland Revenue. This means that your donation of £10,000 to RAW would cost you only £7,500.
Our American Supporters
In order for your contribution to be tax effective in the US, may we suggest your donation is made payable to CAF America, which is registered in the US as a 501(c) (3) tax–exempt organisation. As a US 501(c)(3) public charity, gifts to CAF America are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. CAF America serves as an intermediary grant-maker, allowing US donors to support international causes tax-effectively. By making their gift to CAF America, US donors can receive a tax-receipt for their gift.
Become a friend of RAW
Become a friend of RAW and join our circle for £2,000-£5,000/year
To mark how highly we value your support we are delighted to offer the following range of benefits:
For £2,000/year join our SILVER CIRCLE and get access to 4 exclusive events including an exhibition tour, an online talk, a masterclass and a VIP invitation to a guest list soirée!
For £5,000/year join our GOLD CIRCLE to become an official sponsor with your name on our website and get access to 6 exclusive events including an exhibition tour, an online talk, a masterclass, a VIP invitation to a guest list soirée, a tour of the RAW collection and VIP dinner with the trustees!
Full program available upon request.
Contact
REDISCOVERING ART BY WOMEN (Charity Number: 1205988), 124 City Road, EC1V 2NX, UK.
Contact: Maudji@r-a-w.net / sacha@r-a-w.net
Website: www.r-a-w.net
Instagram: @rediscovering_art_by_women
To make a donation or become part of our circle, please visit https://r-a-w.net/modern/donate/ or email us.