Finding art in all the right places | Canada Voices

Splash Gala in Support of Arts Umbrella, Oct. 5, Vancouver

Arts Umbrella, the beloved Vancouver non-profit which provides education and training in the visual and performing arts, held the 42nd edition of Splash, its most important fundraiser. $1.75-million was raised on the evening of Oc. 5, funds which will support scholarships, bursaries and programming for young people in Metro Vancouver and across Canada. Alongside cocktails and dinner, a performance by some of the young people taking part in Arts Umbrella’s performing-arts programs was given, but central to the event is a notable art auction. Substantial works – this year some 90 pieces – all given by artists and galleries from across Canada either went under the gavel in the live sale or were part of the online silent auction. Shuvinai Ashoona, Meryl McMaster, Douglas Coupland and Marie Khouri were just some of the big names with works on offer, however it was Dana Claxton’s LED firebox, Headdress – Shadae and her Girlz, which had the sold-out room abuzz as it shot past the presale estimate and fetched a record $105,000, all for the cause.

There among the 500 guests with paddles in hand: arts supporters Bruce Munro Wright and Christie Garofalo, who returned as co-chairs (they both sit on the org’s board); David Sung, executive vice-chair and president of institutional at Nicola Wealth, which returned as presiding sponsor (Sung also chairs the org’s foundation board); philanthropic duo Jim and Sandi Treliving; philanthropist Heather Edwards, who was a key supporter of the event; Arts Umbrella board chair and artist Terrence P.R. Turner; gallerists including Monte Clark and Mónica Reyes and art consultant Anita Cirillo; contributing artists including Kevin Boyle, Andrew Dadson, Valerie Raynard, and the aforementioned Douglas Coupland and Dana Claxton; Arts Umbrella co-founder Carol Henriquez; and of course, Arts Umbrella CEO Paul Larocque.