Original drawing by Jacinda Ardern up for auction to raise money for Wellington's BATS Theatre

Jacinda Ardern's hand-drawn artwork is up for auction.
Jacinda Ardern's hand-drawn artwork is up for auction. Photo credit: BATS Theatre / Getty Images

Artwork by Jacinda Ardern is up for sale to help raise money for Wellington's BATS Theatre.

The Prime Minister's creation is among other pieces up for grabs, including work by Wellington Paranormal's Karen O'Leary and artist Tim Christie.

The love-themed artworks are up for auction as part of a fundraiser started on Valentine's Day to help raise money for the theatre and launch #LoveBATS.

"Your donation purchase will help keep the doors open at BATS Theatre and contribute to keeping fees low for artists and ticket prices affordable for their audiences," they say.

"Jacinda Ardern made BATS a Valentine's Day card to help celebrate the launch of the #LoveBATS donor programme and to help raise funds for the theatre! How cute is this? We can feel the love from our Prime Minister with this original bespoke piece of art."

Ardern's artwork is signed and has the text: "All you need is [love] (and BATS…)."

Other love-themed creations are by New Zealand artists Nic Marshall, Glenn Ashworth, Richard Boyd-Dunlop, and Jane Blackmore.

BATS Theatre partnerships manager Lyndee-Jane Rutherford told Stuff that Ardern was the first person to say yes to being part of the #LoveBATS campaign, and was also the first participant to get their artwork back to the theatre. 

"She came back really quickly [and] followed her brief to a T," Rutherford said.

All artworks up for auction are listed on BATS Theatre's website and people can bid on them on Trade Me. The auctions close at 8:30pm on February 21.

Ardern's creation had already reached $375 at the time of publishing.