September 29, 2007
Record-Smashing $71,360 raised for variety at Art For The Heart Celebrity Auction.
Record-Smashing $71,360 RAISED FOR VARIETY at ART for the HEART CELEBRITY AUCTION
Charlie Spiring’s Masterpiece Fetches Highest Bid of $15K; Kings Win People’s Choice Award
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Art for the Heart, a gala auction featuring the original artworks of 20 prominent Winnipeggers and concurrent raffle of paintings by media celebrities, raised a grand total of $71,360 Friday night for Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba. That sum smashed the previous record of $42,545 set in 2005.
The landscape painted by Wellington West founder Charlie Spiring -- entitled “Hit the Bid” -- fetched the highest bid of the evening at $15,000, during the fourth installment of the popular fundraising event which is held every two years
The overall total of funds raised since the event’s inception in 2001 is now $158,905.
Dwaine King, of Lawton Partners, and his daughter Gillian King won the People’s Choice Award for “Security Blanket”, a charming painting of a little girl hugging an Irish wolfhound. A ceramic piece was specially created by Winnipeg artist Jordan Van Sewell for the winners of this award.
The interpretive recreation of an iconic painting by Canadian artist Lawren Harris, which showcased the artistic talents of CBC TV’s Janet Stewart, BOB-FM’s Kelly Parker and Shaw TV’s Jeremy Vallance, earned the People’s Choice Media Challenge Award. The winning team members will each receive a framed print of their piece courtesy of the event’s major sponsor Mayberry Fine Art.
The sold-out event attracted a boisterous crowd of almost 300 people who bid on artworks by the fledgling artists including Procurity Inc.’s Wayne Rivers, whose mixed media piece attracted a top bid of $5,200, and former Winnipeg Jet Thomas Steen, whose hockey-themed work scored $4,000 for Variety. A complete list of the artists participating in last night’s auction follows. Their works can be viewed online at www.mayberryfineart.com.
Art for the Heart is also sponsored by Delta Winnipeg and Manitoba Liquor Marts. Virtually all of the proceeds go to Variety’s child-focused programming since major costs associated with the event are donated by the event supporters and Variety sponsors.
“Art for the Heart is a very important event for Variety. Not only is it a very successful fundraiser, it also serves to create more awareness of our work in the community. The generosity of our celebrity artists, their friends and our event sponsors deserve all the credit for making this happen,” said Variety’s executive director Wayne Rogers.
Mayberry Fine Art donated the paints and canvases, framed the art, and its staff coached some of the artists as they created their masterpieces. Art for the Heart is the brainchild of gallery owner Bill Mayberry, who proposed the idea to Variety in 2000.
“The calibre of the art by our neophyte artists continues to increase event after event. The quality we are seeing is really quite amazing and testament to the serious thought and careful work that our celebrities put into their creations. It is truly a rewarding event for the gallery to orchestrate,” Mayberry said.
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
Thomas Steen- Former Winnipeg Jet
Charlie Spiring- Wellington West Capital
Doneta Brotchie- Investors’ Group Canstruction
Bob Silver- Western Glove Works
Dave Angus- Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce
Lawrie Pollard- Pollard Bank Note
Carol Bellringer- Manitoba Auditor General
Tom Bryk and Nina Bryk - Cambrian Credit Union
Graeme Sifton – Carolyn Sifton Foundation
Bob Cox- Winnipeg Free Press
Aidan O'Brien- Manitoba Blue Cross
Bob and Barb Sokalski- Pitblado LLP
Jim Tennant - Piston Ring
Jan Tennant – Piston Ring
Dwaine King and Gillian King- Lawton Partners
Doug Speirs and Kayleigh Speirs - Winnipeg Free Press
Patricia Nesbitt- Great West Life
Wayne Rivers- Procurity Inc.
Dr. Ken Murray - Plastic Surgeon
Kirk Dudtschak – RBC Financial Group
MEDIA TEAM CHALLENGE ARTISTS
Team 1 Terry McLeod (CBC Radio One), Eleanor Coopsammy (CTV)
Team 2 Laurie Mustard (Winnipeg Sun), Chris Reid (CJOB), Joe Pascucci (Global TV)
Team 3 Janet Stewart (CBC TV), Kelly Parker (BOB FM), Jeremy Vallance (Shaw TV)