Art for land auction

Throughout February, the walls and spaces of the Unity Pavilion were filled with over 300 artworks donated by over 70 artists from Auroville and around the world. Paintings, photographs and prints ranging from colourful portraits to subtle monochrome abstracts adorned the walls, and the open spaces were dotted with dramatic large sculptures and delicate ceramic pieces. Some artworks from an earlier time had a special significance: they were seen and touched by the Mother. Viewers were encouraged to take their time to wander through this showcase of Auroville’s creativity, and to place a bid for their desired artworks via the Art for Land website.

Art for Land is a dedicated action commenced last year by Jasmin, Aravinda and Mandakini of A4A to raise funds to secure land within the Auroville Master Plan area. This year’s activities expanded to include a month-long fundraising campaign of daily activities at Unity Pavilion, such as concerts by popular Auroville band Emergence, film screenings and talks – events that inspired many supporters to donate for the land. Aurovilians were enticed to sign up for a recurring monthly land contribution via the offer of a photo of their choice from Loretta’s rare photograph collection.

The month of activities culminated in Auroville’s second Art for Land auction on 25 February. Winning bids for the artworks were determined at the event, with auctioneer Paul’s entertaining banter keeping the audience chuckling. The art lovers quickly learnt that their casual nose-scratching would be interpreted by Paul as a generous bid. Successful bidders walked away with their desired artworks tucked under arm, knowing their purchase had supported an excellent cause. Disappointed bidders resolved to return next year with greater determination and a few extra coins in pocket. The artworks will remain on display throughout March, and unsold items can still be bid for at the venue or online.

The event raised an impressive amount that exceeded last year’s total. “We were so pleased to have raised so much to help Auroville’s goal of securing the land in the Master Plan area,” says organizing team member Jaya, acknowledging the input of many people who generously assisted (including helper Swaha, musicians Nadaka, Amando, Gordon and Emergence, sound engineers Rolf and Joel, Suresh’s website support and other contributors like the African youth, and tea ceremony presenters, and Loretta for her donated photos). Mandakini adds, “We are all grateful to the Unity Pavilion team for their extraordinary work!”

The Unity Pavilion team of Jaya, Devasmita and Rema, with Mandakini as treasurer, intend to continue the Art for Land initiative, along with the Art for Land website as a dedicated showcase. The success of the first year’s initiative and its high standard of artworks sparked the team’s realisation that fundraising is not the sole purpose. They became inspired about the project’s long-term potential to establish awareness and manifest support, and they decided to proceed on a larger and more collaborative scale in future. “Securing the land Mother envisaged for Auroville needs a very sustained collective effort,” says Jaya. “This is possible through an aspiration of unity – in attitude as well as material effort. The Mother said that she’d rather have one million people give one rupee each than one person giving one million rupees! It was great to see so many people come together to help secure the lands needed for manifesting The Mother’s vision for ‘the City the Earth needs’.”