UNICEF's No Lost Generation program, aimed at getting refugee children back into school, benefited substantially from generous bidding on a variety of Middle Eastern artwork offered in auction recently at Deborah Colton Gallery.
Thirty-five works sold well above their value with proceeds earmarked for programs aiding Syrian refugee children in Lebanon and Jordan.
The event, bringing the refugee crisis to the forefront, was chaired by Dina Alsowayel, Rania Daniel and Veronique Prentice with Deborah Colton providing her gallery for the fundraiser. For the evening, organizers gathered works from prominent, established and emerging artists, many of whom show in galleries in Europe and the Middle East, thus the significant bidding.
La Table restaurant served Middle Eastern-themed cuisine while entertainment echoed the region — the Frequencies ensemble, featuring vocalist Radwan Ktech, who starred in the Arabic version of the Voice, and violinist Andrey Mukaddasi, a graduate of the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus.
Joining the evening were Sima Ladjevardian, Nijad Fares, Gary Tinterow and Christopher Gardner, Fay Zakhem, Ali Kooros, Ali Ansari, Ghaida Midani, Lida and Massoud Moradi, Aliyya and Herman Stude, Lucinda and Javier Loya, Monsour Taghdisi, Becca Cason Thrash, and Maria and Neil Bush.
Ann Holmes, Sonya Renner.
