A wide coalition of national art organizations and visual artists launched an online fine art auction this week in support of families displaced by the Maui fires. Artists donated nearly 1,000 paintings, giving the auction a total value of $1 million.
LAHAINA, Hawaii, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A wide coalition of national art organizations and visual artists launched an online fine art auction this week in support of families displaced by the Maui fires. Artists donated nearly 1,000 paintings, giving the auction a total value of $1 million.
Anyone can bid on paintings in the auction until it closes on Sunday at 9pm ET/3pm HT. All proceeds will go directly to the Maui Pono Foundation, a Lahaina nonprofit doing direct relief.
John Burton, a California production designer, marveled at the massive response to Artists for Lahaina's call for artwork. "Maui has shared its aloha with visitors from around the world for years, and it's time for mainland artists like us to give aloha back to people who have lost so much."
The auction includes work from prominent fine artists with works in corporate and museum collections and production designers in the film industry. But to make it possible for any artist to be involved, the organizers kept submissions open.
"Lahaina is a vibrant and welcoming community, and we wanted the paintings in the auction to reflect that," said Kathleen Hudson, a Colorado artist who helped organize Artists for Lahaina. "I found out only afterwards that there's even a listing from a 9-year-old who saw the call for art and immediately created a painting to submit."
The auction gained traction when major visual art organizations gave it their support. The California Art Club, Plein Air Painters of America, Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association all signed on to boost auction submissions from their membership and get the word out to collectors.
Artists for Lahaina is hosting a free livestream event on Friday at 3pm ET to highlight people with ties to Lahaina. Viewers will hear from Maui artists Ronaldo Macedo, Macario Pascual, Koana Smith and Darice Machel Maguire, who lost studios or galleries in the Lahaina fire. They will also see interviews, studio tours, and more from mainland artists who donated work to the auction.
Learn more: www.artistsforlahaina.com
Media Contacts:
Kathleen Hudson
859-229-5806
John Burton
‣831-521-0586•
Media Contact
Kathleen Hudson, Artists for Lahaina, 1 859-229-5806, [email protected], http://www.artistsforlahaina.com
John Burton, 1 831-521-0586, [email protected]
SOURCE Artists for Lahaina
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