GULFPORT, Fla. — Artists and non-profit organizations are teaming up in Gulfport to raise money and awareness for a good cause
It’s the fourth annual Art for a Cause, hosted by DRV Gallery.
“Artists get to choose a cause of their choice that they are passionate about and the gallery donates 10 percent of the purchase price to their cause,” said Deserie Valloreo, founder of DRV Gallery.
This year, 20 artists representing 20 different causes are participating. Valloreo said the best part might be the diversity of the art and trying to figure out how each piece symbolizes the charity it's representing.
“It’s fantastic, and then you really get a sense of the meaning behind it all and the passion, to get an understanding of their connection to the cause and what it means to them,” said Valloreo.
Artist Aaron Infinite chose the David Lynch Foundation as his charity of choice, an organization specializing in meditation, which has been a positive force in his own life.
“It’s a really good feeling to do art and then have it be connected with something meaningful in the world,” said Infinite.
While artist Robin Carroll chose the organization Hello in There, a charity that works directly with artists.
“To help out artists unrepresented, marginalized, people who deserve a voice,” said Carroll.
Then there’s Marina Richmond, who chose Keep Pinellas Beautiful after she was displaced from her home following Hurricane Milton. She calls the painting, “Eye of the Storm.”
“A tree fell on the house, so I wasn’t able to access my studio or my home for over a year,” said Richmond. “I wanted it to support an organization that was doing things to clean up.”
For many of these artists, like Marina, Art For a Cause, has allowed them to form new relationships with their favorite charities, like Keep Pinellas Beautiful Executive Director Patricia Deplasco.
“I’ve carried this passion with me since I was a little girl and to see that what I see, coming out in a form of art, it was meant to be, it was meant to be that we were brought together, it really was,” said Deplasco.
Art for a Cause can be viewed and purchased online through the end of February here.
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