Brush with Art - Press/Media

Martin De Groot

You've probably seen the poster that's up all over town: White clouds. Bright blue sky. A big A with a swoosh that spells Art. And a teeming field of -- no, not tulips or daffodils, but brushes -- paintbrushes in full, bristling bloom, row upon row. April in Kitchener-Waterloo means Brush With Art.

This is the third time around for this home-grown, grassroots fund-raising campaign for the visual arts. Brush With Art is not news anymore. It has become part of the rhythm of the seasons.

The crop does come up differently each time. For one thing, it gets bigger every year -- both in volume and in variety. Along with the familiar house-painting brush from years past (also commonly used for dusting computer equipment, slapping on barbecue sauce and basting holiday turkeys) they're selling an artist's brush (a Chinese calligraphy brush, to be exact). In addition to the gift baskets from Vincenzo's, there are floral arrangements from the Belmont Flower Market. You can find out more by clicking onto the campaign Web site, also new this year, at www.brushwithart.org. So yes, there have been a few changes. Essentially, however, this is Brush With Art, the popular fund-raising campaign we all know and love, back again for another year.

What more is there to say?

Plenty.

The real story here may be how a project makes the transition from the heady excitement of a start-up venture to the steadier rhythms of maturity. Developments at this stage are critical. Challenges such as holding up interest, sustaining enthusiasm and keeping things fresh while staying the course can be far more demanding than conceiving and launching a new enterprise.

Brush With Art seems to be handling this transition very well. For one thing, every person involved in the campaign that I've spoken to still seems to be having fun. More importantly, they still believe in what they are doing. In public involvements of this sort, persistence is usually more important than zeal.

In the case of Brush With Art, some of the benefits have been immediate: Most of the money raised in the first two campaigns was donated to the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery and the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery. But there is also the long-term plan of establishing an endowment fund for grants to individual artists or arts organizations administered through the Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation.

This is work that requires patience.

Eventually, however, the payoff does come: I was amazed to learn that proceeds from the visual arts endowment fund may be distributed as grants starting as early as next year.

Brush With Art has become familiar. With that familiarity there may come a tendency to forget how unusual this campaign remains in the larger scheme of things. I can think of similar fund-raising activities in other areas of charitable endeavour -- Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, school projects, minor sports, medical research and so forth -- but not in the arts. In cultural fund-raising, there are two standard ways of doing things (corporate sponsorships, which are not donations but mutually beneficial exchanges, don't count): major campaigns that seek large contributions from the few who are capable of such giving, and high-toned, relatively exclusive functions such as banquets and balls.

Now there is nothing wrong with either of these methods. In terms of efficiency -- of dollars earned per hours of volunteer effort -- they may, in fact, be preferable. But fund-raising campaigns that involve the contributions of people from all backgrounds and all walks of life generate benefits that go far beyond simple dollar figures -- especially for arts-related causes.

Every April in Kitchener and Waterloo we see people knocking on their neighbours' doors and standing at the entrance to the liquor store or the supermarket selling paintbrushes, mints, flowers and gift baskets to raise money for a major civic gallery, a highly specialized national art institution, and an endowment to support the work of practicing artists. However familiar such a sight may have become here, it is something that is unheard of almost anywhere else. In that respect at least, Brush With Art remains news.

If you'd like to get involved with this year's campaign, or are interested in finding out more about Brush With Art, Ada Hunsberger, whose work as volunteer co-ordinator is made possible through support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, would be happy to talk to you. The number to call is 886-1433.

Martin DeGroot is co-host of Monday Night With the Arts on FM 98.5 (Mondays at 7:30 p.m.). He comments on arts and culture Tuesdays in The Record. You can reach him by e-mail at: mdg@golden.net

Brush With Art is not your run-of-the-mill fund-raiser; Those involved are having fun and are dedicated to the cause