Art Sale nets nearly $12,000 for Blyth Festival

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Bidding for the Blyth Festival 10x10 Art Auction has now closed and the expenses have been paid, resulting in nearly $12,000 being raised for the Festival.

Organizers Laurel Armstrong and Cindy Fisher spoke with The Citizen about the auction, the second they’ve organized after a successful first attempt in the winter of 2020 that raised just under $17,000 for the Festival, and they were very happy with what they saw.

This year’s event raised a total of $12,472, according to the auction website, but that total was brought down to $11,763 after Armstrong and Fisher paid for the event’s expenses. 

There were 120 pieces of art on offer through the auction. The women say that, over the course of the month-long auction, 331 people bid on pieces and, in the end, there were 81 successful bidders, meaning that several people went home with more than one work of art thanks to the auction. 

In addition, Armstrong and Fisher said that every piece of art contributed to the event was sold through the auction, which they said is another impressive milestone.

Armstrong said that she and Fisher were very pleased with the “remarkable” response to the call-out for artists, especially those from the Goderich area. They were also pleased with the 20 students from Central Huron Secondary School putting their pieces forward for auction in support of the Festival.

She said the student participation would have been a great way for student artists to get their “foot in the door” of the art world, having people bid on their creations and, with every piece selling, knowing the thrill of having their work snatched up by an eager art fan who will now have it on their wall for years to come.

The pair was also impressed with the widespread interest in the auction as bids rolled in from all over North America, in addition to local communities that would be expected for a Blyth Festival auction. They were especially happy with the flurry of bidding on the final day, which really increased the profit of the auction.

Armstrong and Fisher said there were bids from throughout Huron County as well as those from Bruce County, Owen Sound, Niagara-on-the-lake, Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary and even four American locations: Los Angeles, California and Wichita Falls, Texas as well as two spots in New York State.

Fisher noted that the auction, for the second time, really represented a coming together of the arts community in Huron County. Not only had many artists contributed their work to the auction in aid of the Festival, but that many artists were also among those bidding on pieces as well.

In an interview with The Citizen, Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt said he too was impressed and very thankful for what Armstrong and Fisher, as well as Festival staff members Jen Lamb and Kelly McIntosh, were able to pull together in support of the Festival by way of the auction.

He said it was “incredible” to see the support from the local artists, as well as all those who bid on pieces, willing to open their wallets and support the Festival.

Much like the support for the first auction in 2020, just before Christmas, Garratt said it really felt as though Santa Claus had come early for the Festival and that he couldn’t be more grateful for the support from the volunteers, as well as the community.