Roger Williams University to Host Art Sale Benefitting Haiti Relief Efforts

BRISTOL, RI (02/23/2010)(readMedia)-- As part of its campus-wide response to the crisis in Haiti, Roger Williams University will host an art sale to benefit Haitian relief efforts. Community artists from across Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, as well as artists from the RWU campus, have donated approximately 60 works of art that will be displayed and available for purchase during the event.

The art sale will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 24, from 4 to 8 p.m. All proceeds will benefit Partners in Health, Plan USA and Habitat for Humanity International.

Various mediums will be represented at the show, including: original oil paintings, blown glass, encaustics, etchings, monotypes, Giclee prints and offset prints. Every piece of art at the show will be framed or shrink-wrapped for easy transport.

The majority of pieces for sale are priced at $100 or less. The middle range for several original oil paintings will be between $125 and $250. The featured painting for the event, priced at $500, is "Summer Bunch" by celebrated Rhode Island artist Meredith Wildes Cornell. This floral painting includes tones of red, blue and yellow, the primary colors in the Haitian national flag. Simple, bright flowers are a common motif in Haitian art, and the exuberance of the painting is a reminder of the hope for Haiti's prosperous future. Ms. Cornell also donated the digital rights to this painting, which are included in its purchase.

The RWU Bridge to Haiti: House, Heal, Hope – Art Gallery Opening and Sale will be held at the Mary Tefft White Cultural Center in the University Library on the Bristol Campus at One Old Ferry Road. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact K.C. Ferrara, director of RWU's Feinstein Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, at (401) 254-3765.

Members of the media are also encouraged to attend. For more information, contact University Communications at (401) 254-3805.

This event is sponsored by RWU's Bridge to Haiti program, the University community's response to the crisis in Haiti. For more information on RWU's Bridge to Haiti program, visit: http://sites.rwu.edu/bridgetohaiti.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.

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