giving : art auction

35th Annual Art Auction

Event Photos

Maine College of Art's 35th annual art auction on November 7 exceeded th College's fundraising goal. Thanks to the 130 artists who donated artwork and the 400 attendees and buyers, MECA sold nearly $100,000 of artwork during the silent and live auctions held in the ICA at MECA. Nearly $30,000 was awarded back to participating artists in the form of commissions. As a college of art and design, we have a strong belief that giving artists the opportunity to be fairly compensated for their work is important. Funds from the auction support the mission of the College.

2009 Online Catalog

Auction Backround and Purpose

The Annual Art Auction, now in its 35th year, is the oldest charity art auction in the state of Maine and Maine College of Art's largest fundraising event. Since its inception in 1974, the Art Auction has maintained its position as a high quality, high energy event for contemporary art buyers. Although sales are critical to reaching the financial objectives of the event, the auction serves other purposes as well, including: cultivating and sustaining relationships with local and regional MECA alumni and other artists with ties to Maine and northern New England; providing a public platform to view and purchase art by a wide range of makers, including emerging artists; showcasing faculty and student work to demonstrate the high quality of education at MECA; offering alumni an affordable way to give back to the College; and bringing new people into the MECA community.

Artists and/or collectors are encouraged to donate the work outright, but also have the option of taking a 25% or 50% commission of the final sale. Revenues from the sale of artwork or items that have a strong arts theme combined with corporate sponsorship funding and ticket sales consistently net between $85,000 and $95,000 to support the College's mission and programs. Artists benefit as well from the average total of $30,000 given back in commissions.

Two years ago, the Art Auction moved from an open to an invitational call for art to reduce the volume of artwork and improve the exhibition presentation in the ICA galleries and to increase the overall value of a balanced range of artwork by established and emerging artists in an appropriate spectrum of mediums. We continued to expand an increasingly sophisticated art-buying audience by adding more public previews, including Portland’s First Friday Art Walk and through greater online presence. The auction catalog receives thousands of unique hits in the two-month period that the work is on view, and every visitor to the home page is greeted with the logos and links to our sponsors.