Final bids for the Hunger Awareness Silent Art Auction, a joint fundraising event hosted by Orphanage Club and the Upper School Visual Art Department, and held outside the Multi-Purpose Room and the Guy Lott. Jr. Auditorium, ended on April 4 at 4 p.m.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the soup kitchen at the Taipei branch for the Salvation Army, an international charity that provides the homeless with food, “physical and spiritual needs.”
The auction featured 2D and 3D artworks that were made by students, teachers and parents at Taipei American School, including drawings, sculptures and photography. Members of the Parent Teacher Association donated one of the images they made during a printmaking workshop with Upper School Visual Arts teacher Mr. David Morris, who also sold some of his potteryware.
Contrary to the traditional form of auction, the Silent Art Auction does not involve an auctioneer, who announces whenever an item is bid by shouting. Visitors could spend more time thinking over what they could buy, and decide to bid an artwork without having to compete with others.
“If you do not want to get into a bidding war with someone, you could just buy it with a buy-now price,” Mr. Morris said.
The bids were written on clipboards that lay beside the artworks.
The auction acts as a fundraiser for Orphanage Club’s annual Hunger Awareness Week. “We raise awareness to ensure that we do not waste food,” Orphanage Club co-president Matthew L. (‘19) said.
Last school year, students made bowls during ceramics workshops that went on sale. The artworks on this year’s auction does not only include bowls, but more diverse types of art. “We try to give opportunities for other members of the TAS community to be involved if they wanted to,” Mr. Morris said.
Melody Chen (‘18), a co-president for Orphanage Club, worked with the school documentarian Mr. Tobie Openshaw last March to make a promotional video about the bowl sale.
“We at the Salvation Army Homeless Center support homeless people with daily necessities such as food, clothing, shower—things we all need,” Tom Shih, a spokesman for the Salvation Army in Taiwan, said in the video. “We hope to do even more here, to provide better services, to help people get back on their feet.”
![TAS upperclassmen volunteers helped
guide guests at the fair. Volunteers were
also involved in the set-up and clean-up
processes. [VICTORIA HSU/THE BLUE & GOLD]](https://blueandgoldonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/DSC05845-1200x798.jpeg)
![The film team poses for a group photo in Central Park. [ERIN WU/THE BLUE AND GOLD]](https://blueandgoldonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/film_5782-1200x900.jpeg)
![The last prom was held in 2020. [PHOTO COURTESY OF ELAINE H. (‘21)]](https://blueandgoldonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/prom.jpg)
![Students watched their classmates graduate in 2022. [PHOTO COURTESY OF TAS COMMUNICATIONS]](https://blueandgoldonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/grad-900x599.png)
