Shave an Artist Raises $20,000

The New Zealand Art Guild raised over $20,000 for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation of NZ (LBF) at Tuesday nights "Shave an Artist" Charity Art Auction and "Life" Exhibition.

This event saw 18 people walk away bald with top NZ artist Sofia Minson being first to shave her locks. Artists Jennifer Christiansen, Marimba Powley, Helen Sherrock, Sharlene Shcmidt, Juliet Cryns, Victoria Anderson closely followed along with friends and members of the public. Not only were fantastic artworks up for sale but so was the opportunity to shave MP Rodney Hide's head. North Shore City Mayor Andrew Williams, who officially opened the event, won this opportunity with a bid of $200.

The concept behind this awareness campaign was sparked by Sofia Minson who was always impressed by LBF’s “Shave for a Cure” campaign. Sofia didn't want to do this alone so approached the NZ Art Guild to see whether we could get a group of artists together to do it.  From there the idea grew into an event which included 35 artists from all around NZ.

The money raised will help support the 6 New Zealand children and adults who are diagnosed with blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphoma every day. LBF receives no government funding yet provides essential support not only for those patients, but for their families - support that can last months, and even years.

The Exhibition is a celebration and appreciation of all facets of life. This theme was open to interpretation and some of the artworks are very personal as they have been inspired by artists own lives that have been touched in some way by Leukaemia or Blood disorders. The exhibition runs until Friday 27th Feb at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna Beach, Auckland. 100% of the auctioned artworks price and 20% of the sale price of the exhibition artworks goes to LBF. 

Without our sponsors this fantastic fundraising event wouldn’t have been possible so a huge thank you to – Creative Communities, Media 41, Tineswari Maruthamuthu, Barfoot and Thompson, Crosscut hair design, Lee and Antonela, Corey Blackburn, Artistry Chamber Ensemble and Lion Nathan.

A small selection of Photos can be viewed at http://www.nzartguild.co.nz/edit.asp?PageNo=181 with more to come very soon