After three years running completely online, the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s “It’s All About ART” fundraising auction is back with a live in-person auction and, for the first time, the fundraiser will include a separate online silent auction.
On Saturday, October 28th, patrons will be able to bid on artworks from a range of 39 Peterborough-area artists at the live auction held at The Venue (286 George St. N.) beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $75 and are on sale now at www.agp.on.ca/its-all-about-art/.
Building on the success of the previous virtual auctions, there will also be a silent auction running online from Friday, October 13 until the night of the live auction. This silent auction will include an entirely different selection of local artists’ work and will give bidders the opportunity to see the pieces up for grabs at the live event. You can register in advance for the silent auction by visiting the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s auction platform at auctria.events/AGP-All-About-ART.
VIDEO: It’s All About ART Fundraising Auction, 2023
The annual auction is the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s most important fundraiser of the year, with all local artists donating their work to support the non-profit organization’s exhibits and community programming, while allowing the gallery to remain financially accessible to the public by providing admission by donation.
“We have seen that the auction has a really solid impact on the community and specifically in the artist sector, which is why the artists continue to work with the gallery,” explains Art Gallery of Peterborough director Celeste Scopelites.
While the Art Gallery of Peterborough has run a fundraising auction for decades, the concept of “It’s All About ART” began in 2009 — with the phrase coined by long-time member artist and former board member John Boorman — to really put the focus on the arts community and the artists themselves.
“The phrase really positioned this annual event as a point in time when the community is gathered together around the Art Gallery of Peterborough to support it as a pillar of the visual arts community,” explains Art Gallery of Peterborough curator Fynn Leitch. “We are in constant dialogue with our arts community — not only the artists, but the art supporters as well — so once a year we all get together to give back to this institution that gives so much to the community.”
With these conversations at the forefront, the gallery has always adapted its programming to better suit the needs of the artists and to make the Art Gallery of Peterborough more accessible and welcoming to the public.
“The auction has evolved over the years,” says Scopelites, noting the fundraiser originally took place in the gallery itself. “It’s always changing, but art is always at the centre.”
For the past three years, when the pandemic prevented large in-person gatherings, adapting meant moving the Art Gallery of Peterborough’s fundraising auction online. Despite the challenges it posed, Scopelites explains it “worked better than imagined.”
“There are a lot of advantages to doing an online auction because people can participate from home,” she points out. “We had people bidding from everywhere. You didn’t have to be here in Peterborough, and you didn’t have to be present on a particular night, so it was a way of broadening our audience and reach. There was a lot we learned by going online.”
Still, Leitch attests that both artists and art supporters alike are eager for the return to an in-person live auction this year.
“There’s just no substitute for being in the same room with a piece of art,” she says. “Being present with a visual artwork has some sort of nourishing aspect to it. We’re thrilled to get back in person to celebrate, have this great party again, feel that energy in the room, and pump everybody up in support of the gallery.”
Scopelites adds the live event also provides a valuable opportunity for participating artists and collectors to connect and network with one another.
“People get to meet the artists and talk about the work directly,” she says. “That really adds flavour to the event.”
Merging the excitement of an in-person auction with the reach of an online auction, this year’s event allows the Art Gallery of Peterborough to present two different auction experiences.
At the live auction at The Venue featuring returning auctioneer Matt Stimpson, patrons will enjoy some hors d’oeuvres and visit the cash bar for cocktails named after the event’s major sponsors — presenting sponsor LLF Lawyers, event sponsor Electric City Real Estate – Linz Hunt & Company, and hosting sponsor Ashburnham Realty.
In addition to the original artwork from 39 Peterborough-area artists, the live auction will include the opportunity to bid on art experiences, including workshops held at the Art School of Peterborough and guided tours of the Art Gallery of Peterborough led by Leitch herself.
Further taking a page from the pandemic playbook, the Art Gallery of Peterborough has decided to once again host an exhibit of the artwork to allow for participants to see the pieces in person in advance of the auction. The exhibit, which features both the online silent auction items and those available at the live auction, will be on display at the gallery’s 250 Crescent Street location from Friday, October 6th until Sunday, October 22nd.
For those who want to support local artists and the Art Gallery of Peterborough but have no space left on their walls to hang paintings, both auctions will also include ceramics, photography, and jewellery. Some familiar artists whose work will be auctioned off include Lucy Manley, Carol Forbes, Peer Christensen, Shannon Taylor, Sandy McFarlane, and Jenny Kastner, among many others.
“The event is representative of the range of artists that live in our region,” Leitch says. “These artists are incredibly talented and incredibly connected here and they bring forward their own distinct voice.”
There will also be a handful of new artists displaying their works this year, including landscape painter Thomas Blackmore who will be submitting an acrylic painting titled “White Lake,” inspired by the view from his cottage dock.
“The interesting thing about artists working in this community is that a lot of them are inspired by their real experiences here,” notes Scopelites, adding that the brochures distributed to participants at the live auction will contain information about the artists, including these interesting details on their process and inspirations. “We really encourage people to collect local art — real art from living artists — and this is a really great way for people to build their collection.”
While participating artists can either donate half or all of the winning bids to the Art Gallery of Peterborough, the auction itself also has an additional potential financial benefit for the artists.
“This is the opportunity for the art market to set the value of the works,” Leitch explains. “For those who are able, we encourage them to be generous with their bidding, because anytime artworks on auction go over value, it pushes up the artist’s value in the market.”
Even though this year’s event hasn’t even taken place yet, Scopelites and Leitch are already looking ahead to next year, which will mark a major milestone for the Art Gallery of Peterborough.
“Next year, we’re going to be fifty years old, and that’s pretty amazing because that’s fifty years of being in constant dialogue with living artists, listening to our community, and evolving along and changing with it,” says Leitch. “Anytime there’s a big anniversary, it’s an opportunity to take stock and think about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.”
As for this year, Scopelites and Leitch are promising nothing but fun — and art — with the return to a live in-person auction.
“It really is all about art, the artists, and the gallery,” says Leitch. “Having everyone rally around that in this night of support is really fun. Matt the auctioneer makes it fun. The crowd makes it fun. The staff make it fun. The artists make it fun. All around, it’s just a lot of fun.”
Tickets for the live auction are now on sale for $75 at www.agp.on.ca/its-all-about-art/.
To keep up to date on the opening of the preview exhibit and the online auction, follow the Art Gallery of Peterborough on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
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