IN the early 1960s, Pablo Picasso drew a picture symbolising the freedom of prisoners of conscience and donated it to Amnesty International.

In spring last year, the Malvern Hills group of Amnesty International, together with Malvern Quakers, also utilised art and organised an exhibition of paintings

Artist Ann Palmer wanted to sell items of her work to benefit Amnesty, and the show was a success, raising £350 for the cause.

Now both Amnesty and the Quakers are planning to build on last year's fundraising success with a new venture, Art Aid for Amnesty.

Local artists have been invited to come to the aid of Amnesty Inter-national and lend their talents to the cause of prisoners of conscience worldwide.

Ann Palmer will be exhibiting her works again, along with other well-known names such as John Smythe, Alison Chambers and Sally Zeisler.

Prices are set to range from £10 to £500, so there will be something for every pocket.

The exhibition has also got its own artist-in-residence, David Smith, who will be demonstrating his skills on the premises during opening hours.

The resulting exhibition is at the Friends Meeting House, Orchard Road. It opens tomorrow (Saturday) and runs until May 10.

It is open daily from 10am until 5pm, except Sundays, when it is only open 2pm to 5pm.

Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote internationally recognized human rights.

The organisation's vision is of a world in which everyone enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Univ-ersal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.