If you've been thinking about becoming the kind of fancy adult that buys Australian art to hang on their walls, this weekend might be the perfect time to get started. 200 Australian artists are selling their work with all proceeds donated to support rural communities currently grappling with drought.

Artist-led campaign Art For Bales is in its second year, and from Saturday they'll be supporting the sale of 200 artworks ranging from $30 - $4500.

All profits will be donated directly to Rural Aid, a charity supporting drought-stricken communities in rural Australia - who are now experiencing what some have called the "worst drought in living memory."

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Whatsapp Art For Bales co-founder Kate Pittas

Artists Kate Pittas and Andrea Hamann started the campaign last year by after they struck up a conversation in their instagram DMs. It was around the time that the droughts in New South Wales and Queensland were getting worse, and receiving lots of attention in the media.

"Neither of us had a spare thousand dollars sitting around in cash, but we could donate the sale of an artwork to charity," Kate told Hack.

So the pair, inspired by the Buy a Bale campaign last year which saw thousands of Australians donate money for farmers to buy bales of hay and feed, started Art For Bales on Instagram.

Kate says last year's campaign was an "overwhelming" success, as it raised about $77,000 for Rural Aid.

How the campaign works

Art For Bales isn't a shopfront itself, rather their Instagram account advertises the works that are for sale, pointing to that artist's instagram.

If you're keen on buying a work you've seen on the Art For Bales instagram, on Saturday at 10 am all of their artists will post to their own Instagram with a post of their artwork which is on sale.

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Whatsapp Artwork for sale by Sue Rowsell

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Whatsapp Artwork for sale by Aliki K

Buyers can then comment 'sold' or DM the artists to arrange a purchase. From there, the artist donates the sale in full to Rural Aid, and shows Art For Bales a receipt so they can tally up the donations across the campaign.

For Sydney-based artist Alexandra Plim, who is taking part in Art For Bales for the second time, the campaign allows her to lend a hand in the crisis by using what she already has.

"I just wanted to be able to do something to help," Alexandra told Hack. "I'm just so thrilled to be part of it again."

Alexandra says she feels for the rural communities who are experiencing the worst effects of drought, and says the toll on their mental health must be "agonising".

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Whatsapp Artwork by Alexandra Plim

This year, Rural Aid has a special focus on mental health programs for rural areas, which are notoriously overlooked when it comes to on-the-ground mental health resources, especially for communities in remote regions.

Kate Pittas says while last year's focus on buying bales was important for immediate, practical relief, she's proud to be supporting an aspect of the crisis that can sometimes go unnoticed.

A lot of people don't understand that farmers are under huge financial pressure because they're in so much debt. And we all know that debt is a major contributor to stress and stress can lead to all sorts of mental health issues.

Kate says this year's campaign has a strong political message - and the team are calling on the federal government to take more action on drought relief.

"Last year we didn't start this from a political perspective but this year it's really hard to avoid that. Because we're seeing the inaction and mismanagement of funds....we just heard about how certain funds have been used to build yoga halls and that kind of thing, as opposed to actual water management.

"We're really concerned about the government's action on this."

Art For Bales takes place on Instagram on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October.