
Enthusiastic shoppers pick through donated art at ‘Art from the Attic’ sale on the weekend. /GREG PETZOLD
Art from the Attic on the weekend saw hundreds of enthusiastic art shoppers wade through more 2,000 pieces of donated art at Grands ‘n’ More Winnipeg’s 2nd annual sale.
Proceeds from the sale at Crescentwood Community Club were donated to the Stephen Lewis Foundation’s campaign for African children orphaned by AIDS.
Organizers had to cut off donations after 2,300 pieces had flooded in this year. The contributions ranged from souvenir art to posters to prints to an original Wanda Koop painting.
The inaugural sale in 2015 netted an impressive $31,000.
With many pieces priced at $20 or less, shoppers had a hard time not taking something home. Even honourary chairperson Terry MacLeod, from CBC Radio, was spotted in the long line-up with art in hand.
Grands ‘n’ More Winnipeg first organized in 2007, part of the Grandmothers to Grandmothers campaign of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Their mission is to improve the lives of the grandmothers of sub-Saharan Africa who are caring for grandchildren who have lost their parents to AIDS.
The group focuses on awareness, fundraising and global issues. They maintain a Speakers Bureau, with members available to address community groups, service clubs, churches and workplaces. Membership is open to adults of all ages, not just grandparents.
In Africa, the Stephen Lewis Foundation works with community level organizations fighting HIV and AIDS. These efforts support women, orphaned children, grandmothers and people living with HIV and AIDS. They provide grandmothers and the children they care for with the basics, including nutrition, shelter, school supplies and income generating activities.