Seattle, WA. Artist Meenakshi Sinha uses her Facebook page, The Giving Canvas, to auction paintings in support of nonprofits, offering bidders an opportunity for to be donors, too. Every cent of each purchase goes directly into a fund for different specified foundations, most of which are located in or around Seattle. During coronavirus, which has made money and time harder to come by, her contributions have become even more crucial.
“The pandemic has had an economic downturn, so people are not as upcoming with their money as they used to be,” Sinha said. “But on the other hand there is more demand from nonprofits. They’ve been asking for my paintings this year more so because everything is virtual anyway, so I’m getting more requests for donating to their auctions as well as to host auctions for my page.”
Meenakshi Sinha auctions paintings — like this one — on The Giving Canvas.
Although it’s been difficult to meet the one-painting-per-week agenda, Sinha and her artistic prowess have continued to grow throughout the pandemic, providing donors with ornate canvas paintings of natural environments, while offering foundations important funds to maintain their much-needed work during a global pandemic.
The most inspiring and beautiful aspect of The Giving Canvas, though, isn’t as much the art as it is the human interaction — at least according to Sinha.
“Every auction has its own beautiful story,” she said. “I am always surprised at how often connections are made and people kind of find a connection, either to the painting or the nonprofit and so on.”
One of the more recent examples of this took place on Sep. 23rd, when Sinha auctioned off an encapsulating 24-inch by 24-inch stretched canvas painting called, “A Place of Joy.” The auction’s nonprofit beneficiary, ImmunoMomentum, provides important funding for research on childhood cancer.
ImmunoMomentum was started by the parent of a young girl who is now in remission after undergoing chemotherapy. The fund directly benefits data and research on cancer treatment for labs in Seattle Children’s Hospital.
As with any of her paintings, bidders flocked to The Giving Canvas Facebook page for a chance to support the cause and come away with a work of beauty. In this particular case, the winner of the bidding was a mother whose son was in the middle of his final round of cancer treatment at Seattle Children’s.
“The person who bid said, ‘I want to bid on this because I’m looking at this auction from Seattle Children’s Hospital, and my son is getting his last treatment of chemo,’” Sinha said. “He is looking at the painting with me, and he’s really attracted to the colors of this painting. He really wants me to bid on it.’
“They finally won, and the person took the painting home and then sent me a picture of the painting with their son, and what they said was, ‘This was such a great way for us to mark this day as the day that he’s getting his last treatment.’”
“A Place of Joy” by Meenakshi Sinha
Even more than the artwork — which would be quite sufficient on its own — The Giving Canvas is a platform of poignancy and joy. During coronavirus, when normal life seems to have slipped away. Sinha’s artwork provides a splash of brightness and livelihood for the city of Seattle.
From The Giving Canvas:
“Hello! I am Meenakshi Sinha and I live in Kirkland, WA. I offer my art on this page to raise funds for various causes. Thank you for visiting!”
