September 23, 2005
Prominent Winnipeggers get in touch with their "inner artiste" for Art For The Heart Celebrity auction.
PROMINENT WINNIPEGGERS GET IN TOUCH WITH THEIR “INNER ARTISTE” FOR ART for the HEART CELEBRITY AUCTION
Variety Children’s Charity Fundraiser Sponsored by Mayberry Fine Art, Delta Winnipeg, Manitoba Liquor Marts
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Twenty-five, high-profile Winnipeggers, including Reg Alcock, Peter Liba, Ida Albo, Larry McIntosh, and Tom Jackson, have put paint to canvas to create masterpieces they hope will fetch thousands of dollars at Art for the Heart, a bi-annual fundraiser for Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba, on September 29.
Today, the media got a chance to meet some of the previously undiscovered Picassos during a sneak preview of the art up for auction next week. On display at Delta Winnipeg were original works by Alcock, Liba, John Buhler, Bob Brennan, Helen Halliday, Sandy Shindleman, Lindor Reynolds, Sylvia Kuzyk, and painting partners Ace Burpee and Variety Gold Heart Child Kristie Matheson.
The art will be sold to the highest bidders at next Thursday’s gala auction to be held at Mayberry Fine Art, 212 McDermot Ave. Art for the Heart 2001 and 2003 raised some $45,000 in total for Variety programs.
“The generosity and good humour with which our celebrities respond to our invitation to create the art for auction is much appreciated. Baring one’s artistic soul is not something everyone is brave enough to do, even for a good cause,” said Wayne Rogers, Variety’s executive director.
Only 200 tickets ($75 each and fully tax-receiptable) will be sold for the fundraiser and are available by calling Variety at 982-1052. People not attending the auction can view the paintings online at www.mayberryfineart.com beginning this weekend and, as of Sept. 27, at the Mayberry gallery, then place their bids by telephone the night of the auction. Telephone bidding must be pre-arranged by calling the gallery at 255-5690.
In addition to providing the venue for the auction, Mayberry Fine Art donates the paints and canvases, frames the art, and even sends its staff out to coach any artists who ask for expert advice. Art for the Heart is the brainchild of gallery owner Bill Mayberry, who proposed the idea to Variety in 2000.
“Our guest artists often express some trepidation about the challenge we put before them, but each time we are amazed by the creativity that shines through. Raising funds for Variety’s many programs through Art for the Heart is definitely a highlight for us,” Mayberry noted.
Delta Winnipeg, in its second year of sponsorship of the event and a year-round Variety supporter, caters the reception preceding the auction, serving canapés created by its expert culinary team. Helen Halliday, Delta Winnipeg’s general manager, has also picked up a brush to paint a work in the folk art-style of a favourite artist, Nova Scotia’s Maude Lewis.
“From a corporate and a personal perspective, I am pleased to participate in Art for the Heart,” said Halliday, who has worked with Delta hotels in several different cities. “I really enjoyed doing my painting, which is a whimsical interpretation of what I celebrate about the prairies and what I missed when I lived elsewhere in Canada.”
Bill Knight has once again volunteered to auction off the rare treasures while Jim Ingebrigsten returns as M.C. This year, the beverage sponsor is Manitoba Liquor Marts.
Auction attendees will vote for their favourite among the 24 acrylic and watercolour paintings, with the winner of the People’s Choice Award receiving a ceramic sculpture created specifically for the event by Winnipeg artist Jordan van Sewell. Former Winnipeg mayor Glen Murray claimed the van Sewell-donated prize last time for his depiction of Esplanade Riel.
Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba, was established in 1978 to raise funds to meet both medical and non-medical needs of disabled and disadvantaged children in Manitoba.
THE ARTISTS – ART FOR THE HEART 2005
Ida Albo The Fort Garry
Reg Alcock Member of Parliament, Treasury Board President
Bob Brennan Manitoba Hydro
John Buhler Buhler Industries
Ace Burpee Hot 103
Dr. Johann deVries Faculty of Dentistry, University of Manitoba
Helen Halliday Delta Winnipeg
Gregg Hanson Wawanesa Insurance
Winston Hodgins Manitoba Lotteries Corporation
Michael Hooker CDRX Inc.
Tom Jackson Performer
Duncan M. Jessiman Bison Transport
David Keam Best Sleep Centre
Sylvia Kuzyk CKY Television
Peter Liba Former Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
John Loewen Member of Legislative Assembly
Kristie Matheson Variety Gold Heart Child 2005
Larry McIntosh Peak of the Market
Lindor Reynolds Winnipeg Free Press
Lloyd Secter Architect
Sandy Shindleman Shindico Realty
Scott Smith MLA, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Tom Stefanson Manitoba Telecom Services
Kurt Vossen Richardson Securities
Robert Woods Earl’s Restaurants