Nitty gritty

Each December, everyone at Poke downs tools for Hack Day: we’re divided into teams and given 24 hours to work together to take on a creative brief, with the best project (according to an insightful team of guest judges) awarded a prize.  And that’s where the 100 Project was born.

Given the brief of creating something that would make Poke’s East London neighbourhood a better place, the 100 Project team decided to work together to send 100 local kids to the Prince’s Drawing School.

A stone’s throw from Poke Towers, the School gives young people the kind of dedicated tuition that has launched many a creative career. But it’s not always within the means of less well-off families.

Drawing on our contacts throughout the creative and art worlds, we managed to secure donations of work from 52 amazing creatives – including Mary McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Damien Hirst — which we put up for sale on eBay. All proceed were donated to the cause. Each piece starts at a reserve price of £100; we calculated that if one piece sells each week for a year, we’ll be able to send 100 local teenagers to drawing lessons.

Highlights

• Counting the proceeds each week – and how many young we’ve managed to fund at the Drawing School.
  
• Watching the bids on Si Scott’s piece rise to £505.
  
• Being invited to Kensington Palace to try our own hands at life drawing, under the supervision of some of the Drawing School’s brilliant tutors.
  
• A beautiful launch party, attended by many of the artists who donated work – and covered by the Evening Standard.
  
• In-studio bidding wars when more than one Poker had their eye on a piece.