British Artist Damien Hirst is no stranger to the contemporary art world. Renowned for his paintings and sculptures, Hirst has often used his talents to support charities and foundations for various causes. This time, he has focused his sights on Italy. 

On September 15th, Hirst launched a charity campaign to raise money for the Save the Children’s program for education in Italy. The project, titled “Riscriviamo il futuro” (Rewrite the future), aims to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been affected by the pandemic.

The four limited edition prints are titled “Fruitful and Forever” and will feature colorful details also seen in Hirst’s “Cherry Blossoms” paintings. They are inspired by work from artists such as Pierre Bonnard, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and the Pointillist innovations of Georges Seurat. The prints will also show close-up details of densely layered dabs of paint from sections of the large-scale Cherry Blossom canvases. 

Hirst publicly announced this collaboration via an Instagram post earlier this week. He also revealed a sneak peek of the editions.   

View this post on Instagram

Get this what’s happening, I’m announcing that I’ve teamed up with the great @fondazioneprada to make a new set of charity editions to raise money for @savethechildrenitalia. These 2 works are called ‘Fruitful’ and ‘Forever’ and they’re based on colourful details from my Cherry Blossom paintings. I’ve made them in two sizes, just like I did with the butterfly rainbows and hearts. . The prints are eye popping and can be bought via @Heni Leviathan, see link in my bio. All profits will go to Save the Children to help with their Rewrite the Future project and the great work they’re doing with kids in Italy. You can buy them up until midnight on 27th September and like last time the edition size will be limited to the prints ordered in this time.

A post shared by Damien Hirst (@damienhirst) on Sep 15, 2020 at 7:00am PDT

“COVID-19 has been devastating for many people and families all over the world and lockdown has been really difficult, but especially difficult for children who haven’t been able to go to school. 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. I’m delighted to be working with Fondazione Prada to release these new prints to help with the brilliant work Save the Children are doing across Italy, giving free access to education and opportunities to thousands and thousands of children in need,” said Hirst via a press release.

The prints are available in two sizes (39 x 39 cm and 78 x 78 cm) and priced at EUR 400 and EUR 1,200 respectively. They are currently available for purchase exclusively through HENI Leviathan and will remain on the market up until midnight CEST on Sunday 27 September 2020.