Artists Aiding Gulf Coast Efforts

Visual artists are going to do their part as well to respond

to this disaster. We all are terrified, upset, anxious and

damn mad about what has transpired and we have to 

use our creativity to speak up, comment, criticize and 

make our voices heard. We are all in this together 
. . . artists must take action!

~  Dan Tague and Jonathan Ferrara, Gulf Art Aid

Visual artists in the United States, and especially in the Gulf states, are participating in a variety of efforts to raise money for clean-up efforts along the Gulf Coast. 

✦ The Wildlife Rehabilitation & Nature Preservation Society, a 501(c)3 organization of volunteers, is the designated recipient of proceeds from the sale of artwork donated specifically to this Zazzle store to benefit wildlife rescue operations along the Gulf Coast.

The store features such products as ceramic mugs, t-shirts, post cards, postage stamps, stationary, prints and posters, ties, pins, tote bags, and hats—all featuring an image from an artist's donated original art.

Artists who have donated oil-spill-disaster art to the Zazzle store include master printmaker and painter James McConnell Anderson, and watercolorists Carol Carter, Jane Freeman, Paul Jackson, and Robert Wardle.

Donations may be made directly: WRANPS, P.O. Box 209, Long Beach, MS 39560 Attn: Jan Dubuisson.

Image above right: Paul Jackson, "Fowl Language", watercolor, 36" x 22"

✦ Watercolorist Paul Jackson is exhibiting at Gallery 11 in Pensacola, Florida, and is donating proceeds from the sale of  several of his paintings in the show to WRANPS's efforts.

✦ Artist, gallery owner, and community activist Jonathan Ferrara has founded Gulf Aid Art for which contributing artists have created limited-edition, 10-series prints that are sold online (through July 28) and in Ferrara's New Orleans gallery. The artworks range from $100 to $500. One hundred percent of sales will be donated to the nonprofit Gulf Aid, which assists fishers and their families.

A slideshow of artwork for the fundraising effort is here. Participating are well-known Louisiana artists Ron Bechet, Brian Borrello, Sally Heller, David Sullivan, Dan Tague, Dan Rule, Dawn Dedeaux, Jennifer Odem, Rajko Radovanovic, Krista Jurisich, Sandy Chism, Cynthia Scott, Brian Guidry, Skylar Fein, Bob Compton, Teresa Cole, Stephen Collier, Robert Tannen, Michael Greathouse,  David Bradshaw, Kyle Bravo, Tina Girouard, Charley Varey, and Christopher Saucedo.

Image above left: Jonathan Ferrara, Gulf Aid Art logo

✦ The Great Oil Leak Poster Project, an initiative by a group of graphic designers, illustrators, web designers, and artists from around the world, is partnering with Gulf Aid of Acadiana to provide aid to local fishers affected by the continuing crisis. Proceeds from shows and sales of the posters and at-the-door donations will be given to Gulf Aid of Acadiana by GOLPP, which currently has arranged for exhibitions in August at gallery spaces in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana. Go here to view the artwork selected by curators John Gibby and Jeff Lush.

✦ On FaceBook, the group Artists Helping the Gulf Coast Recover from BP Oil Spill connects art purchasers with artists who are donating all or a portion of proceeds from sales of artwork to organizations assisting recovery efforts in the Gulf.

✦ On Etsy, a collective shop, Help the Gulf Coast, has been set up. Etsy sellers have donated the proceeds from sales of their work to two organizations working in the Gulf: Oxfam America and the National Wildlife Federation, which have given the collective permission to fundraise on their behalf.

The collective has amassed nearly 500 items, including jewelry, photographs, mosaics, hand-knits, and vintage art supplies.

✦ New Orleans photographer Matthew Arthur and NLE founder Nicholas Landry have founded the sp[OIL]ed Campaign. Anyone who contributes $40 or more to Protect Our Coastline, a nonprofit organization in Louisiana providing direct relief to persons facing financial ruin because of the oil spill, is eligible to have a sp[OIL]ed image taken, and if he or she also pays for the matting and framing of the photograph, the image will be auctioned to raise additional money for POC. The photos feature subjects with "oil" on their hands (see image to right). Go here for details. The sp[OIL]ed Campaign is on FaceBook, where a number of photographs may be viewed. Landry's and Arthur's organization welcomes photographers who would like to host a photo shoot for the cause.

One hundred percent of the proceeds raised will go to Protect Our Coastline.

✦ More than 50 artists donated work to "The Green Room", an exhibit and silent auction in June that was hosted by Mobile Arts Council to benefit the environmental group Mobile Baykeeper. An article on the benefit appeared here.

✦ Mississippi artist Lori Gordon is donating 50 percent of the proceeds from sales of prints of her landscape paintings to New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network. Work by Gordon, co-founder of Coastal Community Watch, which seeks to preserve the natural beauty of Mississippi's Gulf Coast, can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, Virginia Commwealth Univeristy, and University of Southern Mississippi. The 12 images are printed on canvas and range from $65 to $95.

✦ Nadilyn Beato has created jewelry fashioned from Super Sculpey and is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales to the Environmental Defense Fund's Gulf Coast response team. Beato sells her jewelry, which includes her creations of sea turtles, orcas, dolphins, and other sea life, from her Etsy store. Her plans are to sell 150 pieces to raise $1,500 or more by the end of August.

✦ Eleven-year-old Olivia Bouler is partnering with AOL Artists on "Olivia's Help the Gulf Wildlife Project" to display Bouler's original bird illustrations, which the young illustrator is selling to raise funds for the Audubon Society. Go here and  here for feature articles on Bouler's project, which she launched June 7.

Image at left: Olivia Bouler, "Camphouse Bird", watercolor

Go here for Bouler's page on AOL and here for her FaceBook page. AOL donated $25,000 in Bouler's name and to date more than 1,900 donors have given more than $105,000 to the effort. Bouler already has met her limit of 500 originals, and limited-edition prints of her artwork are now being offered. Images of Bouler's artwork also are being used on t-shirts, tote bags, and other products sold through CafePress.

✦ The Composing with Images Press has issued a call for photographs of the Gulf Coast. Photographers may submit up to three photographs. Images selected by jurors Bill Wolff and Billie Hara, university professors whose classes explore the intersections of text and image, will be published in a book. Proceeds from sales of the book will benefit the Gulf Relief Foundation and LA Gulf Response. Go here for details. Submissions will be accepted until August 1.

If you know of artists who are engaged in similar activities to raise money for relief efforts in the Gulf, please leave a comment.

Also see: Gulf Oil Spill - Musicians and Artists Unite