Sawdust Festival to host auction to support artists benevolence fund
It's not synonymous with stability, and it isn't always lucrative, which is all the more reason why the artists benevolence fund exists.
The fund provides a pool of money that local artists may access in a time of personal tragedy or crisis. It is overseen by a five-member board of trustees. An artist may apply for critical assistance once a year.
In August, the Sawdust Art Festival hosts a live auction to raise dollars for the fund. Artists, both locally and from out of town, donate artwork for the auction, with 100% of the proceeds going into the fund's account.
David Nelson, a jewelry designer who works with sterling silver, was one of the founding members of the program. While individual cases are kept confidential and the amount of the grants are limited, Nelson said the intention of the fund is to help artists who live in Laguna Beach get back to work.
'When it first started, there was an artist here who had [terminal] cancer and was concerned about how we were going to take care of her 6-year-old, so we all passed the hat,' Nelson said. 'It was the original 'GoFundMe.'' he quipped.
'After that, we realized there's a lot of artists here that don't have insurance, so then we had our first auction. … It was a long time ago. We started doing it every year,,' he said. 'The fund was set up to help artists out who make their living as an artists. It's not just doing what they love, it's how they make their living.'
The artists benevolence fund live auction will take place from noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday from the waterfall deck on the Sawdust Festival grounds. Admission is free for those planning to participate in the auction.
Since its inception in 1987 the benevolence fund has awarded more than $100,000 for resident artists in need.
Nelson, who has exhibited at the Sawdust Art Festival for 56 years, is also in charge of a memorial plaque honoring those who have made a significant contribution to the festival.
'Many artists have gotten their start here,' Nelson said. 'Some like myself are still here. Some have moved on from here. … There's 149 names on the plaque of artists who have come and gone, and those are artists who have been here for years and put in their blood, sweat and tears to the show. I've got to add three more names this year. I added five last year and five the year before.'
The goal is to raise as much money as possible for the fund, Nelson said, offering up a target of between $25,000 to $30,000. He added that he hopes to have 75-plus pieces of artwork, spanning a wide range in value, to auction off.
John Tynan, known to Laguna Beach residents for his involvement with the Third Street Writers and the local radio station KXFM 104.7, is expected to serve as auctioneer.
Joan Gladstone, a fifth-year exhibitor at the Sawdust Art Festival, has donated art each of those years, adding the experience has become more personal as she's met artists who have benefited from the benevolence fund.
Between the artists themselves and the festival, Gladstone believes the auction is well known to the community. She noted she knows people who look forward to it every year.
Gladstone's contribution this year? A popular print of a painting she did of a frozen banana stand on Balboa Island.
'We have a community of artists that are helping one another in a meaningful way through their art,' Gladstone said. 'There's another dimension of this when we think about community, and that is the community of art lovers who come to the auction and are there for three hours to bid on a treasure that has meaning for them.
'They want that art, they want that jewelry, or that ceramic item, and they know that the funds are going to this wonderful cause. We have this great mixture of the community of artists coming together to donate their work, but we also have the community of people who come together once a year to make a financial contribution to the fund.'
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