CiviCure Benefit Connects Community To Art and Vice Verse
by Deb Alter
There was hardly any room to move at Brown’s Brewery in Hoosick Falls on Saturday night, October 24, the place was so packed. The taproom was buzzing with excitement about the Farm to Canvas Art Lottery and the Farm to Table menu, and, as always, Brown’s excellent craft beer. People from far and wide came to join Hoosick Fall’s art, beer and food lovers for this unique event benefitting CiviCure. [private]
“This is such a great idea,” said Deb Mahar, a contributing artist and a lottery ticket holder, “I’ve been to lots of auctions as fundraisers, but this is really different.” “There was definitely an exciting vibe in the room, something special was happening,” said Sue Hyde, who was thrilled at the turnout and the upbeat mood. She was one of the committee members that made the event happen. “The food, the art, the music, the space…this is fabulous!” agreed Paula Meerwarth, who ended up with Paul Chapman’s bright red tractor.
There were sixty-seven original works of art, almost all of them 6” x 9”. Each one was an artist’s individual interpretation of the evening’s Farm-to-Table/Canvas theme. Subject matter included landscapes, still-lifes, vegetables, chickens, cows, sheep, pigs, flowers, fruit, trees, tractors, barns, and abstract interpretations. There were oil paintings, acrylic paintings, and watercolors. There were ink drawings, pastel drawings, a sculpture cut from a gourd, etchings, paper and wood collages and mixed media pieces, photographs, and a drawing etched in tin. Some of the works were by artists quite well-known, others by up-and-coming ones. Most artists were local, some were from far away as New York City.
Every work, in fact, the whole evening was a celebration of Hoosick’s rural landscape and agricultural heritage, and the art and artists inspired by it. It was also a celebration of what Hoosick’s bright new future will be. Brown’s reimagining and repurposing of an old, beautiful factory into the Brewery and Taproom is inspiration for what could happen in Hoosick’s other beautiful historic buildings, especially the Wood Block Building, Hoosick Falls’ historic downtown anchor, because this was a fundraiser for CiviCure. CiviCure’s current major project is the purchase and restoration of that building; the aim is to restore two beautiful performance spaces on the third floor to host theater events, concerts, films and film festivals, and more, as well as gallery space for visual arts.
Throughout the evening, the Brown’s staff hustled to serve customers from the Farm to Table and Brown’s craft beer menus. As people came into Brown’s, they visited the display, studied the pictures, discussed the works with one another, and made their wish lists. At 6 pm, a long line formed to buy tickets. Every lottery ticket holder would be a winner since they each got to take a work home. Every one of the 67 tickets were sold.
The tension was palpable as the lottery began. Some had made lists with ten works or more, others figured they’d just “wing it” and make their choices when their names were called.
At 7 pm, Kelly Brown and Barbara Sussman, CiviCure Board members and Farm to Canvas committee co-chairs, spoke about the event, about Hoosick Falls, and about art. “Art is alive,” said Sussman, who is also a painter and contributing artist, “It speaks to the viewer, and it changes, depending on who is interacting with it.”
During the lottery, The “Mad Hatter” (Anita Wilson) pulled the tickets from the basket, and emcee Gary Sussman (also a contributing artist) announced the names. Bridget Crawford was the first to be picked, and she chose a landscape painting by Dustin Liebenow, a Berlin/Hoosick Falls native. Some people knew exactly what they wanted and went right up to the display and told Sussman which one she should take down for them. Although the choices became fewer as the evening progressed, everybody was happy with what they got. One ticket-holder didn’t get called until near the end, but was thrilled that the one she wanted, her number-one choice, was still available. Last, but not least, Casey Macasay, got her painting and received a special gift for being so patient, a cotton tote bag hand-printed and signed by Amy Anselmo, one of the contributing artists and the Farm to Canvas logo designer.
Everyone, indeed, was a winner. “Each piece seemed to end up with the right person, every piece seemed to connect in some way with the person who ended up with it, whether it was on their list or not,” Brown reflected afterwards. Many of the contributing artists were present, so they got to meet their patrons.
“CiviCure and all the artists made lots of new friends. What a fantastic outcome in addition to the funds raised,” said Jayne Stokes, CiviCure’s Administrative Director. “We made more than we had even hoped for, but there are some things that we will never be able to put a value on—the incalculable gift of the work contributed by the artists and the time and expertise of everyone who volunteered,” she continued.
Off in a not-so-quiet corner, Sarah Hoffman, Brown’s Marketing Director, worked a table where folks feeling creative could use some of Anselmo’s original farm-related stamps to create their own design on a cotton tote bag. Suzanne DiDonato, who got a painting and made two tote bags desribed the event as “a wonderful night – beautiful art, delicious food and a great cause.” She said it was “inspirational.”
For more information about CiviCure and its mission, and to see more pictures of the event and the artworks, visit civicure.org or check out their Facebook page.[/private]