• Donate your unwanted M&S clothes in Salisbury Oxfam shops and receive £5 off a £35 spend on clothing, home and beauty products in M&S stores and online. Terms and conditions apply.
• Donate your unwanted clothes to Oxfam at M&S. Take an item of clothing you no longer wear (even if it’s not from M&S) with you next time you pop into M&S to buy something new. Simply place your clothes into one of the ‘shwop drops’ located in all M&S stores. You can earn shwop ‘points’ each time you shwop by registering on M&S’s Facebook page

Don’t forget!
Even if you’re not looking for anything new, you can still donate your unwanted clothes to Oxfam in any M&S or Oxfam shop. You’ll get a good feeling knowing you’re helping to fight poverty.

Oxfam and M&S
Shwopping is the latest development in Oxfam’s longstanding partnership with M&S. Together, we’ve already raised more than £8 million to fight poverty – with your help, we can do even more.

Oxfam and M&S are perfect partners. M&S knows Oxfam makes the most of every donation. And here at Oxfam, we know M&S is committed to reducing the number of clothes that end up in landfill – plus they’re big supporters of our work fighting poverty.

However you choose to shwop – whether it’s by bringing your unwanted M&S clothes to Oxfam or by dropping off your old clothes at M&S when you buy something new – it’s an extremely convenient way to donate to Oxfam.

We believe that shwopping could become the new shopping – and we’re delighted to be working with M&S to make it so. We’ve set ourselves the ultimate goal of recycling as many clothes as M&S sell – hundreds of millions of clothes each year!

Oxfam’s Bra Amnesty aims to collect at least one million bras in April with some being sold in Oxfam’s shops in the UK but many more will be sold by women in West Africa – where quality bras are hard to come by and the money raised will make a real difference in poor communities.

Miquita Oliver, who visited Frip Ethique with Oxfam last June, says: “I think many of us would confess to hanging onto bras we don’t want or need – from gifts that don’t fit to old favourites we just can’t bear to part with.  The beauty of Oxfam’s project is that they don’t need to go to waste, British bras are hugely fashionable and in high demand among women in Senegal.  I met women atFrip Ethique whose whole lives had been changed thanks to the income they were earning from bra sales. By simply hunting out old wears and supporting this campaign women across the country can make a huge difference not only to these women’s lives but also to that of their children and families.”

Step 1
Hunt out your forgotten bras – the gifts that don’t fit, the ones that looked better in the shop…
Better still, organise a collection and hunt out even more bras!

Step 2
Donate your bras to Salisbury Oxfam shops. We’re happy to collect them in either of the shops. If they’re M&S bras you’ll even get a £5 M&S voucher as part of the M&S clothing exchange…

Step 3
Pat yourself on the back – your bras will make a brilliant, life-changing difference.

Where your bras will go
Your bras will either be sold in our UK shops, or sent to Wastesaver, our recycling facility in Huddersfield… From Wastesaver, bras are sent to Senegal (along with things like summer clothes and baby clothes)… In Senegal, they are sorted and sold at Frip Ethique, our social enterprise. The money your bras raise goes towards our poverty-busting work in Senegal and around the globe.

Oxfam Collects at Work makes it so easy for your employees to donate their unwanted things to Oxfam as part of their working week. Oxfam will then arrange to pick these up and bring them to our shops in Catherine Street.

We tell each of your employees how much money their donations raise and the difference that could make to the communities we work with.
Plus we will provide you with a corporate report which lets you know the total the whole company has raised.

This scheme has already been highly successful in other parts of the country. In July 2010, St. Albans City and District Council signed up to the scheme. Their employees efforts have since raised nearly £5000 for Oxfam and prevented 708kg from going to landfill (http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/press-room/items/2011/December-2011/Councilraisesnearly5KforOxfam.aspx).

You can find out more information on the Oxfam GB website and read about other businesses using the scheme. Then when you’re ready you can contact Salisbury Oxfam (email s...@salisburyoxfam.org.uk or phone 01722 337187 and ask for Michelle or Richard). Alternatively, you can request someone from Oxfam contacts your business.

Oxfam Gallery’s final exhibition ‘Future: Unknown’ celebrates the future

February sees the opening of the final ever exhibition at the Salisbury Oxfam Art Gallery; a celebration of the future of art in Salisbury by young artists from The Unit. The Unit is an independent, non-political social enterprise broadly aiming to use creative approaches to empower and nurture a sense of agency in young people.

This exhibition will be the last for the Oxfam Art Gallery as the venue will sadly be closing its doors in March 2012. The Oxfam Art Gallery was opened in 2008 as the first ever Oxfam gallery and has hosted exhibitions by various local artists. The gallery is staffed by a dedicated team of Oxfam volunteers.

This final exhibition, by promising young talent, is an eclectic range of emerging art ranging from giant origami sculpture to hand crafted brooches, photography and large scale paintings. The exhibition runs from 10th to 25th February at the Oxfam Art Gallery (above the Oxfam bookshop) in Catherine Street, Salisbury.

Contributing artists for ‘Future: Unknown’ became involved through the young people’s organisation, The Unit, based in Endless Street in Salisbury. Those taking part are all aged between thirteen and nineteen and had to pass through a rigorous selection panel before making it to the exhibition as competition for places was fierce. Two local graphic artists and friends of The Unit, Nich Angel and Stew Taylor, will be exhibiting their work alongside the young artists and shall be hosting the preview evening on Thursday 9th February 5 – 7pm. All are welcome to join us at the gallery on this very special evening.

Heather Minto, Project Manager at The Unit said: “ We are thrilled to have been asked to curate the last ever exhibition in the Oxfam Art Gallery. We work with some extremely talented young people and this will be an excellent platform for them to showcase their work. At the same time however, it is tinged with sadness that such a community spirited gallery is to close.”

On Thursday 9th February come and meet the artists and find out more about them, their art and The Unit anytime between 5pm and 7pm. Artwork will be on sale from this time. All are welcome to attend this informal gathering. The exhibition opens on Friday 10th February and continues until Saturday 25th February. The gallery is located at 10 – 14 Catherine Street Salisbury and is open Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm. Entry is free.

Take a look at the exhibition poster here.

2, 8, 13, 22 Late Night Shopping ’til 7pm

After that we’ll be closed a few days over the Christmas period itself…

23rd December: 9am – 5pm
Christmas Eve: 9am – 5pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed
Bank Holiday (27th December): Closed
28th December: 9am – 5pm
29th December: 9am – 5pm
30th December: 9am – 5pm
New Year’s Eve: 9am – 5pm
New Year’s Day: Closed
2nd January 2012: 9am – 5pm

… then open as usual.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Salisbury Oxfam!

Since opening in 2008 the gallery, the first of its kind for Oxfam, has gone from strength to strength. The combination of donated items, synonymous with Oxfam, exhibited side by side with original art is also a relatively new idea and this exhibition further expands on the mix of the new and the more familiar as there will be both veteran and first time exhibitors at the gallery.

Amongst those to show at the gallery for the first time is Moira Ross. Moira produces stone carvings and has exhibited across the South including the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens near Romsey during 2010. Also new to the gallery is the work of Lisa Von Hallwyl. Lisa is a fashion and jewellery designer and a graduate of the Winchester School of Art. Lisa’s striking millinery has proved popular at weddings.

Veteran exhibitors include the Eeles Family Potters and Brian Hodgson. Both have an extensive following. Brian recently held a successful solo exhibition at the gallery during the September Salisbury Art Trail and regularly exhibits his evocative oil paintings in London. The Eeles family, from Dorset, are renowned for their imaginative and striking ceramics and they produce those using experimental techniques unique to the family.

Richard Eveleigh, a recent graduate and volunteer at Oxfam, says that he is delighted to work at the gallery. “The gallery is a lovely exhibition space. When it opened I held my first exhibition there and it has proved a massive boost both to my confidence and to my CV. The experience of exhibiting there has allowed me to develop my skills and I have since exhibited across the country, most recently in London. It is also very rewarding to know that art work is supporting such a good cause. This is something that many artists agree with and, next year, we will be pleased to welcome our first international artist to the gallery, Fareen Butt who is based in New York. ”

The exhibition opens its doors to the public on Friday 3rd December and continues until the 23rd December. The gallery is located at 10 – 14 Catherine Street Salisbury and is open Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm. Entry is free. More information about the gallery and this exhibition can be found at www.salisburyoxfam.org.uk/gallery

To be honest, we already knew that our customers were very generous people, judging by the wonderful donations of time and money we receive in store, but it’s great to hear it from someone else too.

Last year you spent £160,325 on life-changing Oxfam Unwrapped gifts for people in need, and we’re hoping to break that record this year with the fantastic new range already on sale in our shops and online at www.oxfamunwrapped.com

Oxfam Unwrapped gifts help those who really need them in all kinds of ways, amongst other things it has paid for safe drinking water for thousands of people, fed families worldwide, train teachers and educate children.

Once again, thank you.

Simple ingredients used with rare skill, provide unusual results. Oxfam Art Gallery is extremely proud to be hosting this exhibition of ceramics members of the Eeles Family Potters from West Dorset. The Eeles Family; David, Patricia, Benjamin & Simon Eeles work as a team and make a wide range of ceramics by hand including stoneware, porcelain and raku. Using basic ingredients such as ball clay from near Poole in Dorset, china clay from South Devon and fine alluvial sand from West Dorset remarkable objects are created.

The work is individually decorated with a variety of clay slips, colours & glazes, which are prepared by the Eeles Family with extensive testing & firing to produce the complete range of textures & patterns that their work is renowned for. Their work is exhibited across Great Britain and many of their objects can be found in public and private collections throughout the world.

Entry to the gallery is free. Open 10am – 4pm Monday to Saturday. 25% of proceeds go direct to Oxfam’s vital work in combating poverty.

“It is always a delight to see the unique work of the Eeles Family Potters. Their unusual style sits beautifully in the gallery” Richard Eveleigh, Oxfam Art Gallery Assistant

You can find out more information about Eeles Family Potters at their website at http://www.eelespottery.co.uk

Land Grabs

Since the food price spikes of 2008, wealthy companies have invested heavily in cheap agricultural land in poor countries, often for commercial use. But in many cases, the land sold is actually being used by poor families to grow food. These families are often forcibly evicted with little or no warning or compensation, and in many cases the land is either left idle by investors who know it will only grow in value, or used in ways that reduce food production. So it’s time for effective global rules to get land grabs under control – rules which ensure local communities see the benefits of investments and which help make sure that governments provide secure access to land for smallholder farmers, and especially women.

What can you do?

There have been major developments since we launched our land grabs report into evictions, some violent, in Uganda, where at least 22,500 people lost their homes and land and many have been left destitute.

Recently, members of the evicted community had reported feeling intimidated and harassed after questioning by workers from the New Forests Company (NFC). Since this action was launched, and thanks to pressure on NFC, we have now received assurance from the company that it will halt this questioning of community leaders and conduct an external investigation. We will continue to monitor the situation on the ground in order to confirm that this has happened.

However, we need to maintain pressure on the NFC to ensure that the external investigation results in justice for these vulnerable communities in Uganda. Send an email to the Chairman of NFC, Robert Devereux, demanding he take immediate action.

Click here to email the New Forests Company.

7th – 29th October 2011, Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm, Oxfam Art Gallery, Salisbury Oxfam

Oil paintings from three series: Cathedral Light; Reflecting in Light; Treasured Toys.

This exhibition of oil paintings presents observations on the everyday fabric of our urban and rural environment. With the effects of light as a companion the series of works endeavour to show how our experience of the structures around us are very much part of our sense of place.

The exhibition is also part of the Salisbury Art Trail, which you can find out more about here! As part of the Art Trail you can also Meet the Artist on Thursday 13th and Saturday 15th October.

Find out more information about Brian Hodgson at his website: www.brianhodgson-art.com