The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 50 no 1 April 2011

Events
Vipoo drinking lavender
tea. trying to stay calm
during the auction
Ceramic Relief - Artists
Respond for Queensland
Inga Walton reports on a recent ceramics auction
It always seems to be the case that those in the arts and creative industries more than pull their
weight in terms of philanthropic and charitable endeavours. The heartbreaking spectacle of the
Queensland flood crisis, followed soon after by Tropical Cyclone Yasi, has again demonstrated the
generosity of spirit and sense of mutual obligation which characterises Australian public sentiment at its
best.
Like many others who were distressed by the unfolding tragedy, Vipoo Srivilasa pondered what he
could do. "After watching the terrible footage on the news, I was so moved I felt like I had to do
something, so I went straight to the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal web-site to make a donation." he
relates. " However, I didn't feel like I had done enough, but being an artist I can only afford so much by
way of a monetary sum, but then I realised I could donate my artwork instead. Then I thought of an
auction of ceramics to make the donation a bit bigger."
Srivilasa's call-out for friends and colleagues to contribute exceeded his expectations and he was soon
fielding expressions of support from as far away as North America. "The response was overwhelming!
I was planning for maybe twenty artists to join me but I reached forty in no time; it turned into a much
bigger project than I expected," he admits. "People are very generous, many artists pledged major
pieces, or if they make small works they donated a few pieces as a set. Unfortunately, owing to time
constraints, I was unable to include everything, particularly the kind offers which came through very late
in the process."
94 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APRIL 2011