Ashton artist battles illness with fundraising artwork

A local artist living with kidney failure is raising money for Kidney Research UK through an exhibition of her paintings at Bridge View Cafe in Portland Basin, Ashton-under-Lyne

Ann Hotchkiss, who has been on dialysis three times a week since being diagnosed around three and a half years ago, says painting has helped her cope with the life-changing condition. 

Art and resilience 

Ann told Tameside Reporter her kidneys were working at just 5% when she was rushed into Tameside Hospital and that the diagnosis came as a major shock. She said the condition has affected her mobility as well as her day-to-day life, but she has been supported by family living nearby. 

She explained that she has drawn and painted since she was 10, continuing the hobby through adulthood and even painting children’s ward windows when she worked as a children’s nurse. Over the years, she has staged several exhibitions with a friend to raise money for charity. 

Exhibition at Bridge View 

Among the works on display is an abstract piece inspired by the small boats debate and migrant tents, along with a painting themed around anorexia and the pressures young people face to be thin. Ann said she wants people to look beyond a quick glance and think about the story behind each picture.  

She has already raised money through an exhibition, where she sold all her unframed pictures and made £300 in one day.

The current exhibition at Bridge View Cafe at Portland Basin and will run for the next couple of weeks and visitors can take paintings away in exchange for a donation.