Erin Lale Campaign To Hold Art Silent Auction Fundraiser November 30th - December 1st

Online, October 23, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Southern Nevada artists and craftspeople will be presenting both small gifts and major artworks at the Art Silent Auction at Unity Center. In addition to being the event promoter, Erin Lale will also have many of her artworks in the silent auction. Lale is the world's most prominent contemporary sunprint artist. Other participating artists include Theron, Wolfe, and Merle Blaire, a long-time leader in the local arts community.

The Erin Lale Campaign is a political campaign to elect Erin Lale to the Henderson City Council. The Henderson City Council race is a nonpartisan contest. The municipal primary is April 2, 2013, and the general is June 2, 2013.

Erin Lale was the founding Chairman of City Lights Artists' Co-op, which helped revitalize Water Street by launching an art gallery in an abandoned city-owned building to draw customers and businesses to the area. Working hand in hand with the Henderson Redevelopment Agency, she turned a group of 200 artists into an IRS recognized nonprofit group with its own bricks-and-mortar gallery in 6 months. City Lights Gallery was so successful at drawing businesses back to the north end of Water Street that the gallery had to move to a side street, where it remains today. Lale hopes to repeat that success in reviving empty shopping centers around town.

The Erin Lale Campaign is holding an art silent auction as a fundraiser. There will be one silent auction 7pm-9pm Friday November 30th and another chance to win from 10am-noon Saturday December 1st. In a silent auction, bidders put their bids on bid sheets next to each art object, with the artworks displayed on tables and in booths. Lale is providing free booth space for the artists and crafters. Artists will set their own prices as the opening bid on each of their artworks, and the artists will take home that amount when the piece sells. Any proceeds above the opening bid become a donation. Donations will be split between the event promoter, which is the Erin Lale Campaign, and the venue, which is Unity Center, at 3037 E. Warm Springs Road, Suite 300.

Lale says, "Before the recession started, I sold my art professionally from an online store. I sold my fine art line of sunprints, and my craft line of hand dyed fabrics. I know how artists and crafters are struggling in this economy, because I struggled to keep my business open and outlast the recession, but the recession has turned into a depression and the luxury buyers didn't start buying again. I had to close my 8 year old business in 2010. Like other small business people, artists can't keep their businesses open without customers. So this art event is my way of helping out my fellow artists while, hopefully, also raising campaign funds. Whether I win or not, my campaign will have done some good in the community. The art silent auction is the weekend after Thanksgiving, so there should be a lot of gift buyers at the event."