Last Thursday, we made our inaugural trip to the 18th annual AIGA Heart Art Auction, which was hosted at the swank Love Light Lounge in Five Points.

Heart Art is an annual silent auction event that raises money for Project Angel Heart, a Denver charity that provides no-cost meals to those living with terminal illnesses like cancer and HIV.

The Event

There was a wide range of art on display: everything from screen printed gig posters to jewelry, painting, and illuminated signs. The most unusual (and impressive) piece on display was a sinuous metal lounge chair, painted red and covered in heart-shaped cutouts.

Artwork for auction included letterpress gig posters by Hatch Show Print.

There was beer and food aplenty, a full service bar, a make-your-own-button station, and copious amounts of door prizes. The overall theme, which was well executed, was “sultry 1960s lounge” (think Mad Men after hours).

The overall atmosphere was good – the Love Light is full of character and ideally suited for large events such as this. The personal highlight for me, however, was the wall of cupcakes at the south end of the room, generously supplied by The Denver Cupcake Truck. The red velvet ones were sinful, and the diminutive size of the little cakes made them much easier to eat en masse.

Our Contributions

Two of our crew donated pieces to the event. Brennan’s Love Connection, a 36″ × 12″ digital framed print (shown below), was the hot item at table 1. Romeo + Juliet, an ambitious new piece by yours truly, was snapped up by a Shakespeare enthusiast.

“Love Connection”

Close up of "Love Connection"

Another close up.

A digital preview of the entire piece.

Romeo + Juliet

Section of "Romeo + Juliet" showing part of the play's title

A close-up showing some of the 25,000+ words of the play

A digital preview of the entire piece.

Thoughts

Overall, this year’s Heart Art was well done. It was great to get out in the community, sample some really excellent art, and help raise money for a good cause.

We did walk away feeling somewhat curious about a few things: why some of the pieces were started at $10 for a charitable auction, or why the bidding would only occupy the first two of the four hours scheduled for the event. I suspect that the event would have raised more money for Project Angel Heart had the bidding rounds been extended even 15 minutes each.

We are hopeful that there will be some follow up on the event’s website; for instance, how much money was raised? What were the hot items?

Until Next Year

The 3 Roads Media team had a great time, and will likely be in attendance at next year’s 19th annual Heart Art auction. We hope to see you then!