Silent auction of contemporary art for worthy cause
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The painting by Jamini Roy that will be up for auction
On August 24, the Ceylon School for the Deaf and the Blind in collaboration with the Saskia Fernando Gallery, will present the third ‘Silent auction and Fundraiser of Modern and Contemporary Art’. The event will take place at the Temple Trees Auditorium where 42 works of art will be exhibited and open for bidding over the course of the evening.
Bidding will close at 9 p.m. and the final amount raised for the school will be announced. The money raised will go towards the funding for both the Ratmalana and Jaffna schools for the Deaf and Blind.
The idea of the silent auction came about at a meeting with Nirosh de Silva, Chairman of the Resource Development Committee – the fundraising arm of the school, Suresh Dominic, patron of the arts and Saskia Fernando, gallerist and curator. It was decided that rather than presenting an exhibition of works, the Silent Auction format would give the audience the opportunity to bid for their favourite donated masterpiece. The opportunity of course also stood with the fact that the starting prices of each bid would likely appreciate not only from art collectors but also those eager to donate to the school. And so the idea for the silent auction fundraiser for the Ceylon School for the Deaf and the Blind began.
“I attended a silent auction hosted by a friend’s gallery in London, it was in collaboration with the BBC and bidders were invited to place their bids throughout the course of the evening, while cocktails and canapés were served to the guests. That is where the idea came from,” shared Saskia Fernando. “This year we have a record number of works, with a very special feature of elephants painted by artists. They are absolutely stunning pieces and all one-of-a-kind.”
“The first two auctions we had concluded successfully helping us raise much needed funds for the schools. We are hopeful that some of our children will eventually be inspired by this event and choose art as a career. The event itself has become one that raises funds for a worthy cause and also widens the knowledge of our local community on contemporary Sri Lankan art,” said Nirosh de Silva.
The talking point of the evening is a work by Indian modernist, Jamini Roy donated by Udayshanth Fernando, that was acquired from the Dr. Ralph Pieris Collection, exhibited for 25 years at the Sapumal Foundation. A series of works by Stanley Kirinde, donated by Suresh Dominic will also be auctioned. These paintings alongside those of Jagath Ravindra, Jagath Weerasinghe, Sarath Gunasiri Perera, Seevali Illangasinghe, Pala Pothupitiye, Priyantha Udagedara and many more leading contemporary artists both based in Sri Lanka and overseas have been catalogued both in print and pdf and are available for preview by contacting the Saskia Fernando Gallery on 0117429010 before August 24.