The Lebanese American University (LAU) launched a creative initiative in support of the Emergency Financial Aid Fund, calling it LAU Artrising. The university inaugurated it in order to help the students who are having difficulty funding their education.
LAU’s Artising was launched in collaboration with ArtScoops. It’s auctioning art created by the LAU community.
Inspired by Henri Matisse’s mantra, “creativity takes courage,” the showcased art exemplifies thought-provoking portraits, abstracts, and sculptures.
Elida Jbeili, the Director of Communications and Media at Lebanese American University in New York, is in charge of promoting the auction with the Lebanese diaspora.
She told The961 that LAU acknowledged their “rich history of providing a quality Liberal Arts education” and decided it was a great opportunity to showcase the art created by the alumni, staff, and faculty “who are renowned artists in their own right.”
With the nationwide lockdown taking place, the auction is happening online on the ArtScoops platform, a marketplace for collectors usually presenting contemporary MEA art.
Jbeili told The961 that 40% of the art being auctioned already have bids on them, in just under a week.
The initiative was promoted under the tagline: Support Beirut. Support Art. Support Our Students.
“It has been a wonderful experience for us because it has brought the advancement team much closer together. One of our pillars is to have an LAU without borders, and this project has exemplified that” Jbeili said.
She then heartily emphasized the generosity of the artists and told The961, “we are doing this because we believe in our students’ potential, and we want to make sure as many of them as possible can graduate.”
The fundraiser will run until the 1st of March.
