Siloam Mission celebrates birthday with launch of new platform to sell artwork created by guests

Siloam Mission kicked off its birthday celebrations Thursday, launching a new platform to sell artwork created by participants in its arts program.

“We have created a new program and online platform for the artists in our community to sell their work, which will allow them to gain income from their art, as well as help fund the program to offer more arts opportunities at Siloam,” said Siloam CEO Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud.

One of the many pieces created by participants of Siloam Mission's art program (Siloam Mission)

For years, Siloam Mission has offered arts programming to its guests, giving them free access to art supplies and instruction in various arts disciplines. 

This new platform will allow guests to step outside of the box.

“Our staff work with these artists to help them price their pieces, put them up for sale, and ensure there is a sustainable way for them to keep the proceeds from those sales. As we work with artists in the program on pricing, we have an opportunity to talk about the value of their gifts, their time and their capacity to create beauty in the world. The income will be meaningful to the artists, but even more so is the recognition that they have something to offer.”

The new platform was launched during Siloam's 36th birthday celebrations, which featured live art painting, a cake auction, and sealed bid auctions of artwork created at Siloam to raise funds for the program.

All proceeds from the event will go towards the arts program at Siloam Mission. Meanwhile, 80 percent of the purchase price from art created by those in the program will go to the artist. The remaining 20 percent will go toward funding the arts program.  

Anyone interested in checking out the art can visit art.siloam.ca or email art@siloam.ca. 

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