Grande Prairie art gallery seeks to raise funds at 41st annual art auction

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This week, the Grande Prairie Art Gallery will be holding its 41st Annual Art Auction with all proceeds going to support the gallery’s educational activities and operations.

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The online auction contains a collection of works of art and travel experiences to foreign destinations. The auction continues this week and ends on Saturday, November 6.

“It is very important to us that there is something for everyone,” said Jeff Erbach, executive director of the Grande Prairie Art Gallery.

Erbach says there are a variety of art pieces and experiences for sale that will suit virtually anyone’s taste.

“There are jobs that can cost a little less and jobs that can cost a little more, some people are professional collectors, some people just want something for their home,” Erbach said.

According to Erbach, this fundraiser is necessary for the gallery to continue to serve the Peace Region as one of the largest free galleries in Western Canada.

“We serve a really large population of people who are widely dispersed over a massive geographic area,” Erbach said.

Erbach says proceeds from the sale will go to support a variety of arts education programs and workshops, which prior to the pandemic served thousands of people in the Peace Region annually.

“We do that by facilitating school tours, group tours, by expanding the school curriculum with art pieces and exhibits, we create digital videos, we do workshops, we have art camps,” Erbach said, adding, “The vast majority of this it is free and openly accessible to all, but it costs us as an institution tens of thousands of dollars a year. “

Erbach believes that the gallery will be an important part of the region’s post-COVID recovery, so the support through this fundraiser is really important.

“Economically we spend a great deal of money in our community on professional services, shipping and marketing,” Erbach said, “and culturally, of course, an art museum shares our collective thoughts and belief systems, breaks down racial and social divisions, creates and nurtures intercultural dialogue, which is really fundamental. “

Erbach says that some notable pieces from the auction are a sculpture of newly elected city councilor Grant Berg and a piece by GPRC arts instructor Esther Hoflick.