Paintings, By The Numbers Raises Over $25,000 for Kus-kus-sum

We were finally able to hold the Paintings, By The Numbers event on Sept 12, 2020. The event raised over $25,000 for Kus-kus-sum and despite the fact that it was very different than we had planned preCOVID, it turned out to be a success.

The event centered around a draw for art – 50 donated paintings priced between $1,300 and $4,000 (click here to view the art). One at a time participants, who had purchased a $500 ticket, were randomly drawn and could choose a piece of art. This meant that the first drawn got first pick out of all 50 pieces and the last drawn got the painting that was left. To keep everyone safe and allow all the participants to enjoy the event it was held in two segments. The event went smoothly although things did start to heat up in the second segment as the art disappeared and people were vying for certain pieces. “The people I talked to all got a piece that was in their top five” reported Treasurer Brian Storey. “ It just goes to show how much great art there was and how different people’s tastes are”.

We would like to thank Ken Kirkby and Nana Cook for their generosity. Their donation of over $100,000 in paintings made this event possible. While Ken and Nana could not attend the event, they sent these words to be shared:

 “The idea of giving of oneself and one’s own work was born a long time ago when I was a child in Portugal. My father, a uniquely brilliant and gentle human being, helped rebuild the Portuguese economy after the Second World War. Through his many varied projects and interests he made vast sums of money, almost all of which he gave away each year on New Year’s Eve to those in most need of financial help. One of the many memorable things he taught me was that to live a good and valuable life you simply needed to know three things. One – when you get up in the morning do as you please but hurt no one; two – before you go to bed tonight make sure that you have done more for others than for yourself; and three – half of what you make today give away today. From these simple ideas, when persistently acted upon, will come the end of possessiveness, jealousy, hate and war.”

Ken and Nana’s contribution not only raised $26,000, it has helped leverage other funds as well.

In addition to the paintings, Christopher Smith, a glass artist from Nanoose Bay, displayed a glass sculpture of two chum salmon at the event. Christopher is donating 100% of the proceeds from this sculpture, which retails at $4,750, to Kus-kus-sum and 50% on two other pieces (read more…).

We would like to thank all the participants for their time and patience as we adjusted to the ever changing situation due to COVID-19. We would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers who helped make this happen as well as our event sponsor Odlum Brown, our venue sponsor 40 KNOTS Winery, Easy Street, Pod Creative and Bryan Walwork. In addition to sponsoring the event, team members of Odlum Brown invited their clients and participated by purchasing tickets to the event.

If you feel like you missed out, don’t worry, we are hoping to do this again in a year or two. To receive notifications about an upcoming Paintings, By The Number event send an email to support@kuskussum.ca.