It’s the holiday season once again and that means many of us are even more broke than our normal college student status. Christmas shopping for loved ones can be plenty of fun, but it often breaks the bank, and dealing with the masses of last-minute shoppers can be downright hazardous.
So why not do some holiday shopping at an alternative venue this year?
The XYZ Gallery, a student-run art gallery at Virginia Tech located on Main Street, is hosting its first annual “Silent Night” silent auction on Friday.
The gallery will be auctioning off all sorts of artwork — from sketches and paintings to sculpture and wood carvings. Submissions are from all around the community, many from Tech students and art faculty. All bidding starts at $1, so if something really catches your eye, there’s a possibility you could take it home for a very affordable price.
Gifts donated from local businesses will also be up for bid, including gift baskets from stores such as Ben and Jerry’s and Bath and Body Works, and a variety of gift cards worth about $25.
Glynis Condon, a senior visual communications and design major and the XYZ president, said a lot goes into the creation of an auction such as this one. The students at XYZ take on a lot of responsibilities to ensure the gallery runs smoothly, and put great effort into hosting various art shows, including “Silent Night”.
They carefully design layouts, discuss themes and then finally call for submissions of artwork from artists around the community, including students. Then they go about collecting submissions, hanging them and being hosts at the gallery during the open hours.
An auction such as this involves so much planning that it almost didn’t happen this semester, but Condon was determined to have the holiday auction. She and other members of the gallery went to approximately 80 businesses around the community, giving out proposals for donations, and then returning to collect the donations that were offered.
“We are as much a part of the staff of running an art gallery as we are a community of student artists,” Condon said. “We try to add certain events that aren’t just art shows, and to have fun with this community of artists and take advantage of the fact that we are all together and all artists.”
A version of this article appeared in the Dec 7 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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