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Headwaters Arts, Alton Mill holding online charity auction

June 5, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

There are four days left, up to June 7, to bid in the On The Block Charity, online Arts Auction, in support of Headwaters Health Care Foundation (HHCF), with all donations going directly to the hospital.

To learn how this came about and what it means, Regan Hayward, part of the work team with the Mill, long-term member of Headwaters Arts, and Gallery Chairperson, contacted the Citizen.

“My role this time is as the communications person,” she told us. “Of all the ideas that came forward about what can we do to help and sustain, to deal with this unbelievable circumstance, that idea of the auction, a charity art auction, it grew organically among a few ideas and then it just grew.”

She said, “There are over 43 pieces of art, we’re integrating artist members, from all over, of Headwaters Arts and the tenants of the Mill.”

Regan Hayward is an art curator: “Essentially, I produce and present visual art exhibitions. I have done events with as [few] as 13 artists up to 45. I handle a lot of public relations and communication and am the presenter, if you will – the bridge between the art and the venues.” 

Ms. Hayward has been living in Peel Region for ten years. “I was a participant as an artist with Headwaters Arts and now I’m a part of the work team, a work partner on the projects that we produce there now. This is a newly formulated work team and the key tenants are the leaders there. They’re adding me on. 

“I think the whole world has shifted,” she opined. “We’re all past going forward with the idea that whatever little village you are, is enough. This charity art auction is a way forward,” she said. “It’s a positive example; at least, one would hope so.”

The initial incentive was to find an idea that could be helpful: “A charity,” Ms. Hayward began. “Essentially, the idea was, the artists had a lot of conversations about how we could help. This created a good vibe and from an artistic perspective, to collectively get part of the proceeds and donate them to the first responders, that is a portion of the sales is donated to Headwaters Health Care Foundation, so, all the proceeds go right to the hospital.”

Ms. Hayward is a “multidisciplinary artist – dance, music, drawing. I believe that art matters. When I got involved with Headwaters Arts, I just naturally became a curator to champion the work,” defining, “Art equals work. Sometimes, it seems we do it so effortlessly, so, the public’s thinking that’s how it is but, really, it’s a lot of work. 

“To get the word out there and celebrate – that’s what I’m about.”

A slight variation on the theme of visual art is the contribution from YogaGurl (sic), who has set “Wellness Packages” On the Block. Otherwise, the items for auction are visual art pieces: paintings of quite varied styles, pottery, photography. Overall, the theme is upbeat and healing, with plenty of paintings in Nature, a lovely waterfall, birds, scenery, horses, – good colours, appealing in their approaches to their subjects, yet each of them, a fine place to rest the eye.

“A lot of our auction items are coming from members of Headwaters Arts. There are 43 items in the auction, focussing on the positive. We opened it up on Friday [May 29] had some good bids over the weekend; we’re getting a lot of shares. There are minimum bids and opportunities to purchase outright – you can opt in and there’s a set price to buy now,” said Ms. Hayward, explaining the mechanics.

Many of the participating artists are the familiar names, of who have been tenants at the Mill for many years: fine artists, C.J. Shelton, Sherry Park, Bev Menken. Some of the others are Eunah Cho, Ellen Cameron, Jolanta Jung and others. You’ll see when you check the link.

“This all came up in the initial stages of the COVID-19 closures. The artists reached out to each other and said, ‘Let’s organize-’ That’s really how it came to be,” said Ms. Hayward. “Let’s organize a conference call: first we all got on board and it was a brain storming. I had literally been with Headwaters Arts; I just threw my hat in the ring; ‘I want to find my place.’’ 

She said, “I remember very vividly – there were all kinds of ideas until: why don’t we do an auction? We can raise money and support the hospital. Of all the ideas, that was the one that really stuck.

“It just worked out that way, that there are 43 pieces. This one idea was the one that stuck . In the last weeks of March, every other day, there were calls. The members told the Board and they said, ‘Let’s do it-’” She continued, “Jordan [Grant, co owner of the Mill, with his brother] has been instrumental, in every step of the way. Jeremy [Grant, ibid], as well. It’s been essential to have their assertive enthusiasm.” 

In a deeply reflective moment, Regan Hayward said of the whole effort and thought that have gone into this project, “We were motivated by a real feeling, a desire for collaboration, in a unbelievable experience. I think everybody was shell shocked, that nobody saw this [virus] coming. The real pitch of the project – it lit a fire in me as well.” 

She looked back over the weeks of putting it all together: “We gotta do something together, we said. I thought that was pretty powerful, a spirit of cooperative to be birthed at a time that when anxiety was up high. I just thought it was a beautiful response.

“At first, you didn’t know which way it was going – once that got going, something beautiful was happening.”

For the future: “I think so, we will do something else; there are so many unknowns. I do think that collaborative spirit will prevail – that spirit is still there and it’s going on and I think that ‘s a good sign. If the willingness is there, storming through the project to form it, to create that formation, to create something that’s worthy. We came to that and you see that on the platforms and what the artists have submitted.”

To see, to enjoy and to bid on the On the Block Charity Arts Auction, the link is: 

https://www.charityauctionstoday.com/auctions/Alton-Headwaters-Auction-11885.

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