Tonight, March 25th, 2015, Agora Gallery hosted the incredibly fun Young Professionals: A Joint Networking Event in order to raise money for the many humanitarian projects of World Childhood Foundation. Led by New York painter Fred Di Vito, a group of over one hundred young professionals in various fields got together to learn some color theory, paint mixing, and, ultimately, how to create their very own urban landscapes. The event perfectly combined Agora Gallery’s three most favorite things: art, New York, and charity.
We had wine, catered food, music, and great company.
After everyone had a chance to mingle, graze, and enjoy the artwork of the Swedish artists on our first floor, one of the event organizers, Matthew Linder, introduced us to Lindsay DiMichael from Chances for Children. Chances for Children has been working with parents, infants, and toddlers in lower-income areas in order to increase the chances for these families to foster positive psychological health and successful lives.
“Let’s paint!”
There weren’t too many professional painters among our young professionals, but they all took to painting like naturals. The subject of the painting was a city street at night – a familiar subject for this crowd of New Yorkers. With just some black, blue, white, and yellow, our amateurs became pros in one night.
Said Frank Di Vito, whose cityscapes and landscapes will be on display at Agora Gallery until April 21st, “This is a great event because of art, and because everyone is having fun. People are communicating, not only about art, but also about life. It’s about helping children. It’s hope for the future; it’s a great event.”
Using Art to Make a Difference
Patricia Brintle has used her work to raise funds for repairing schools and communities in Haiti. Saisons Avocado, Acrylic on Canvas, 60×24
People often make the mistake of thinking art is just something pretty to look at. We forget that art can be used in countless ways to improve the world around us.
Many of Agora Gallery’s artists have auctioned their works in support of charities. Castro ART was recently featured on FOX news for doing just this to benefit the charity Goodie Two Shoes Foundation. You can read all about him and his story in the Humanitarians feature in this May’s issue of ARTisSpectrum.
Agora, too, has worked with charities such as the Children’s Heart Foundation, donating portions of the proceeds from sold work to fighting congenital heart defects in children.
Not all contributions have to be monetary. Many artists use their work as a means of shedding light on issues around the world. Iranian photographer Shokoufeh Malekkiani’s photography powerfully explores the plight and suffering of veterans in her Soul of War series, and Tracey Derrick uses her photography to illuminate upon the unique trials and tribulations of breast cancer.
And, of course, there are many well-known artists like Banksy and Diego Rivera who use their unique platform to raise awareness on all varieties of issues.
