IN THIS time of stress of calamity, many sectors and individuals have come forward to help. There are companies that allotted the entire amount of their 2020 advertising budget to helping frontliners amid this coronavirus disease (Covid-19) situation. A woman sold her Swarovski-studded wedding gown, the proceeds of which were used as help to the medical personnel caring for the Covid-19 patients.
With the same spirit of charity, a group of local artists in Davao City have also come together to do an online exhibit of their artworks for the benefit of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) frontliners.
This group of artists, with the help of artist Alfred Galvez, have decided to gather artworks of their choice and sell it online uploaded on the Facebook page Davao artists for the frontliners.
"There is no particular concept or theme for the artworks that we showcase here. As a matter of fact, we encourage the artists to bring out their old works in their homes. It's basically Art in the Park concept but online," said Jessa Almirol, Art Portal Gallery for Contemporary Art manager.
She also said this project is not only a help to the frontliners but also a promotion of local art in Davao. The artists have the liberty to donate either 50 percent or 100 percent of the particular artwork's sales proceed to the fund.
"In a way, we are also helping the artists with their livelihood, not just the frontliners," Almirol added.
Currently, there are about 100 artworks by different visual artists being displayed online for sale. The group is very much positive with the turnout of this initiative as they have already sold about 10 artworks for the first day amounting to about P90,000.
"This online exhibit will go on for as long as our medical frontliners would still need PPE and for as long as the Covid-19 threat is still there," said Almirol.
The group of artists partnered with A Generous Davao, a group dedicated to help provide PPE suits, N95 masks, and closed suction catheter for the medical frontliners. As of March 29, the group had already received a total of P3,900,000 cash pledges from different organizations and individuals. Out of this amount, medical equipment and sanitary items had been bought and donated to SPMC.
The total cash accumulated by the Davao artists will be donated to A Generous Davao.
Interested local artists who wish to also participate and sell some of their artworks may message Davao artists for the frontliners Facebook page or contact Alfred Galvez on Facebook.