A fundraising gala unites the community to celebrate and support the vibrant arts scene, featuring a remarkable collection of works by local artists.
On Oct.19, Fredericton Art Alliance (FAA) hosted fundraising event “For Arts’ Sake.” The gala brings together an excellent collection of fine arts and crafts contributions by well-known and emerging artists from the Fredericton region. It was an evening for guests to indulge in live and silent art auctions.
Katie FitzRandolph, FAA president, said it’s an opportunity for the community to enjoy music and food while taking part in the silent auctions of different kinds of arts such as books, paintings and pottery.
“It gives us the funding to be able to do programs that promote and support the arts and Fredericton,” she said.
FitzRandolph mentioned that although grants are helpful, they do not cover everything for the fundraising arts program.
As the organizer of the event, they have many responsibilities, including making sure guests understand how the silent auction works and ensuring the process of wrapping up artwork that has been sold goes smoothly.
“Getting the sense that the guests are having a good time brings me joy,” said FitzRandolph.
She said the event turned out as expected. She got to see people who enjoyed the event in the past and came to experience it again and also got to meet new people who were interested in supporting art.
FitzRandolph said they consulted the artist to ascertain the estimated value of the artwork, serving as a guiding factor for its sale price. The artist has two options: they can either receive half of the final sale amount or opt for a tax receipt corresponding to the total appraised value of their creation.
“[All proceeds] go to pay artists and various programs through our summer artists in residence program, arts schools and arts supplies.”
Heather Patterson, an emergency physician at Foothill Medical Centre and Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, is also a photographer and author of the book Shadows and Light: A Physician’s Lens on Covid, a book included in “For Art’s Sake.”
Patterson said the combination of challenges within her work schedule and seeing some of “life’s toughest moments” caused her to feel burned out and begin a process to regain her passion for emergency medicine by making this book.
“My photography style is very much about observing what’s happening in a documentary style,” she said.
Patterson was “surprised” by the vulnerability people were willing to share.
“I think through the pictures you get to see the teamwork, the resilience, the empathy, but you can also see the tragedy, devastation and fear,” she said.
Patterson said she is always looking for ways to impact the community positively.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be involved in this fundraising and know the book is creating a positive impact by creating hopefully some funds to put toward future projects in the community,” she said.
“I’ve donated in the past and I’ll continue to donate,” said Debb Ferris Bates, an artist who also donated her oil painting “Yellow Tiger Lilies” for the fundraising.
She said her inspiration for this painting comes from some Lilies flowers found in her backyard, in the house she was putting up for sale.
“I knew I would love painting flowers because of the memories that were shared in our backyard,” said Bates.
She said she “loves” oil painting because it is easier to change an aspect of the painting if something does not convince you.
“I love giving to organizations. It’s getting harder to donate and donate our time, but I’m always trying to support art, allowing others to experience the same I do through it,” said Bates.
