TC Media and Ad Lounge have joined forces and are bringing together agency execs for a good cause with their upcoming Art from the Unexpected event, which will raise money for Sketch, a Toronto-based charity for young adults aged 15 to 29 who are marginalized or homeless, that aims to reintegrate them into society by offering them a community and an education in the arts.
With art in mind, TC Media and Ad Lounge approached 20 industry execs, including big names from media agencies like MediaCom, Starcom MediaVest and ZenithOptimedia, and gave them six weeks to create an original piece of visual artwork around the theme of “origin.”
The participants will be given the challenge of presenting their creations, which will then be sold off during a silent auction. A portion of the proceeds will go directly to Sketch.
Trina Boos, founder, Ad Lounge, tells MiC the idea behind the event is to challenge members of the industry to step outside of their comfort zones and give them a chance to be artistic – something they aren’t always known for.
“I said no 20 times because I’m not artistic in the slightest and it terrified me. Finally they talked to me about the cause, and I thought it was a good one,” says Caroline Andrews, VP and group publisher, consumer solutions, TC Media, of her reason for getting involved.
But when she found out she could use photography, she leveraged her skills as a former part-time photographer and her love of hockey to create a photo collage of the Stanley Cup (pictured right).
Meanwhile, Bruce Neve, CEO, Starcom MediaVest Group, chose to participate for the thrill of the challenge, and took his piece in an entirely different direction.
“I started relating different words to the notion [of origin] and started thinking about great thinkers, the universe and different theories, and got the vision of Einstein first,” he says.
From there, he decided he wanted to intersect science with the arts. After stumbling upon the 1985 film Insignifcance, during which Einstein and Marilyn Monroe meet in a hotel, he decided to paint his own interpretation of what that would look like (pictured left).
Art from the Unexpected will culminate April 16, bringing the 20 participants, as well as two featured artists from Sketch together at the Steam Whistle Brewery. Tickets can be purchased here.
