PAC art sale fundraiser to help make up for lost funds
The Pahrump Arts Council has recently experienced some difficult times, with a former president of the organization arrested on suspicion of embezzlement in early January of this year.
To help make up for the lost funds, PAC is now working to put together an art sale fundraiser, set for Thursday, Feb. 13 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bob Ruud Community Center.
“It’s been a little tough in the last couple of months but we are getting through it. Hopefully we can not focus on that bad story and let’s go on to the good stuff that PAC is doing!” PAC President Ginger Forbes told the Pahrump Valley Times on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
Forbes said the idea to hold an art sale came from a fellow PAC board member and the organization took up the concept and ran with it. PAC brought in an appraiser who looked at all of the art to place a value on it, with more than 50 pieces earmarked for sale next Thursday evening.
“We’ve had stacks of beautiful art sitting in the office for quite a while,” Forbes explained. “We’ve had a lot of stuff donated to us over the last few years. For instance, last summer we had someone donate everything from their estate that didn’t sell at auction, every piece of art came to us. I think he must have traveled around the world and he had some beautiful pieces! So we have a lot of art that we need to sell.”
Forbes said the items for sale at the event will range from $10 to around $300, with some of the higher valued pieces to be up for auction.
“We’ll also have some silent auction pieces, raffle items donated by local businesses, wonderful little hors d’oeuvres served and some drinks,” she said. “We’re trying to make it a classy event. Admission is free and the raffle tickets will have various prices, depending on the value of the item that is being raffled off. Some of the art is from local artists, such as Janet Toy, who was one of the original artists when PAC started back in 1993. Then there are a couple other local pieces as well as all kinds of art from all over the world.”
Forbes said the art that will be sold on Thursday is all framed and ready to hang, covering a wide variety, with different subjects, styles and mediums represented by the collection PAC has gathered over the years.
She noted that the event also falls the night before Valentine’s Day, so those in need of a last-minute gift for their loved one will have the opportunity to find something special.
Forbes said this may be the first event of this type but it is not destined to be the last. “It’s something that we are hoping goes really well so we can continue to do this,” she detailed. “We’re thinking about doing it quarterly, with our next one set for May when we hold our annual Art and Sol event. We also want to look at using some different ideas for each event, such as spotlighting one or two local artists. We just want to make each one special in itself. We’ve been coming up with all kinds of ideas so we can keep this going.”
The ultimate goal of the art sale is to help PAC emerge from its current challenges better than ever.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun and we are all looking forward to it,” Forbes enthused. “We hope to see everyone come out and enjoy the event with us.”
For more information visit http://pvpac.org/
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
