ESTEVAN — The Estevan Public Library is gearing up towards the second edition of its silent art auction.
The auction will run in online and in-person formats from May 15-18 on the EPL website at estevanlibrary.weebly.com and inside the library at the leisure centre.
The first time the EPL hosted an art auction fundraiser was in 2022. The event proved to be successful, so they decided to showcase local talents and try to raise some funds for programming once again this year.
"We did it a couple of years ago, and we saw a lot of participation from the public. A lot of people really liked coming in to check out the art both online and in person. It's just a fun fundraiser to do. And the funds that we do raise will help us with programming in our Maker Space," said EPL branch manager Jason Redshaw.
The auction will showcase any kind of local art.
"Last time, we received a few crafts, which was interesting. Those went pretty good. We also had paintings, carvings, sculptures, prints, as well as photographs," Redshaw said.
So far this year they have received a quilt, a few paintings and ceramic art.
Last time, there were between 40 and 50 items donated and displayed at the art auction, attracting over 100 bids, with bidding wars over a couple of items. The auction also brought quite a few people to the library. Every art piece was sold.
Redshaw said they hope for about the same number of donations this time.
"It's going to be a fun time to come check out some art. And it's a great time to showcase some of our local art as well," Redshaw said.
The library will be accepting art donations from the public right up until the auction in May.
"If you have any paintings, prints, carvings, or other works of art you would like to donate, the library will graciously accept them for our silent art auction," the EPL said.
To donate art for the auction, people can call the library at 306-636-1620 for further guidance.
