CORAL, the Oaxacan center for the rehabilitation of hearing and speech, is a charity operating in Oaxaca, south central Mexico. It relies primarily on private and corporate donations. On October 14, 2011, CORAL held a small benefit fine art auction in downtown Oaxaca, as a prelude to its larger fundraiser planned for November in Mexico City at Hotel Radisson Paraiso. As worthy a charity as it is, and as hardworking are its staff and volunteers, the event illustrated that charitable auctions of Oaxacan fine art still have a long way to go in order to become highly successful events.
CORAL in Context: A Oaxacan Charity Worthy of Support
The Centro Oaxacqueño de Rehabilitación y Lenguaje, A.C. is a non-profit organization providing assistance to the deaf and hearing impaired and their families in Oaxaca. The four-pronged enterprise consists of an audiology clinic, hearing and speech therapy facility, early detection hearing loss program and a social work component which includes an in-home training initiative for parents in outlying indigenous communities.
Indeed one would be hard-pressed to find a more deserving charitable organization in Oaxaca to donate tax-deductible funds, one’s time if a volunteer with specialized training in one of a number of areas, or clothing and equipment (sports paraphernalia, hearing aids and batteries, and so on).
The Oaxaca Art Scene
Oaxaca boasts one of the most vibrant arts communities in all Mexico. Two of the late great masters of Mexican fine art, Rufino Tamayo and Rodolfo Morales, were Oaxacans. They continue to influence the development of Mexican art today, and in fact impact the artistic expression of many artists around the globe. And while the quality of education in the state of Oaxaca is questionable in a general sense, its school of fine arts maintains a reputation beyond reproach.
Modern day Oaxacan artists who exhibit internationally include Demián Flores, Francisco Toledo, Enrique Flores, Arunfo Menzoda, Sergio Hernández, and the list goes on, exceeding 100 names. Their art has spawned well over 50 art galleries in the city of Oaxaca alone.
A fine art auction industry has grown hand-in-hand with fundraising for worthy Oaxacan charities. CORAL is one of the more recent charitable foundations to use art auctions as a means of raising funds to maintain operations and expand its reach further into the Oaxacan community. Yet despite the fact that charities in Oaxaca fundraise by holding benefit fine art auctions throughout the year, in most cases their potential is not realized.
Oaxacan Charities & Benefit Fine Art Auctions into the 21st Century
While fine art auctions in Oaxaca as a means of fundraising had its genesis in the 1990s, it was not until the beginning of this century that using art auctions as a mean of topping charities’ bank accounts and enabling them to better serve their beneficiaries, truly began to take off.
Oaxaca Lending Library (together with its outreach program Libros Para Pueblos) and Estancia Fraternidad have held successful benefit fine art auctions over the past ten years, though more recently they have been conspicuously absent from the scene. Their success can be attributed to a number of factors:
- The generosity of artists and galleries, often enabling charities to offer 200 or more pieces for their live and silent auctions
- The dedication of volunteers
- The cooperation and assistance of owners of the halls where the events have been held; print houses, hotels and restaurants which have been instrumental in publicizing; and patrons in the food and beverage industries who gratuitously quench the thirst and fill the stomachs of prospective buyers
- Campaigns to spread the word about upcoming benefit auctions, utilizing predominantly email contact lists and more recently social media networks
- The strategic choice of auction dates
But the inability of other charitable organizations to mirror such earlier successes has exposed cracks in the means by which benefit fine art auctions have attempted to succeed. The recent CORAL charity auction illustrated two persistent shortcomings in how benefit fine art auctions in Oaxaca continue to be run: unreasonably high pre-determined and fixed minimum opening bids, and the use of amateur auctioneers. While CORAL did indeed fall victim, thankfully the auction was only one arm of the morning’s fundraising, and CORAL did achieve other objectives.
The CORAL Fundraiser of October 14, 2011
As has befallen other recent benefit art auctions in Oaxaca, CORAL sold only a fraction of the pieces on the block, in this case 20%. But the event was nevertheless a success. It drew public awareness to the November main event. While only five pieces of art were offered from renowned artists Rubén Leyva, Enrique Flores and Arunfo Mendoza, art aficionados learned that the Mexico City auction will include works by others as well, including Toledo, Hernández, both Demián and Enrique Flores, Guillermo Olguín and Shinzaburo Takeda.
CORAL actually sold out the breakfast event held at Cafeína Restaurante Galería – 140 tickets. Throughout the morning attendees watched videos aimed at raising awareness of the charity through explaining the importance of its mandate. And of course there was an opportunity to learn about the high quality art which will be featured in November.
Broader Outlook for Benefit Fine Art Auctions in Oaxaca
The CORAL fine art auction in Mexico City will no doubt be a success, in part because of the broader and wealthier market of art aficionados it will draw. But equally important is the fact that CORAL has secured the services of one of the best auctioneers in the country, Paco de la Peña. Oaxacan charities should by now recognize that auctioneer quality is an important key to the success of any benefit fine art auction.
It is suggested that Oaxacan charitable organizations together pay to have a local art aficionado attend an auctioneering school in Canada or the US. Only then will the donating artists be willing to let the auctioneer set and vary opening bids, confident in his ability to drive up hammer prices through this trained professional’s knowledge, expertise, training and personality. Until that happens, Oaxacan charitable fine art auctions will continue to be staid events lacking entertainment value.
It is human nature to loosen purse strings while being entertained, be it as a result of having a drink or two during an event, or listening to an auctioneer’s interesting facts and humorous anecdotes, part and parcel of working a crowd. In the course of 20 years attending fine art auctions in support of Oaxacan charities, not once have I been entertained. Alcohol helps, but a good auctioneer is better.
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
