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Gregory Kondos’ original oil painting “French Irises” is featured in Art Fur Paws, an online auction to benefit the Sacramento SPCA.
Meow! ONLINE AUCTION BENEFITS SACRAMENTO SPCA
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his year’s Art Fur Paws, the Sacramento SPCA’s online fundraising auction, will be live at witherells.com from Nov. 18 through Dec. 2. Bid on original artwork by regional artists, as well as antiques, collectibles and jewelry, all donated by SSPCA supporters. Don’t miss the action on an original oil painting by the late Gregory Kondos titled “French Irises,” created by the renowned artist while in France. One of our region’s most celebrated painters, Kondos exhibited this piece in a 2013 show at the Crocker Art Museum. Watercolors, acrylics, mixed media, ceramics, sculptures and handmade jewelry are among the many other
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artworks. Artists include Terry Pappas, Jill Estroff, Leslie McCarron, Debra Kreck-Harnish, David Peterson, Elaine Bowers, Deladier Almeida, Jim Marxen, Cathryn Rakich, Barbara Dow, Leslie Toms, Joe and Paula Bellacera, Kathy Dana and others. “I think bidders will be excited to see they have a chance to take home fantastic original art by many of Sacramento's best-known artists in about every medium imaginable,” says SSPCA board member Tracy Fairchild. The two-week online auction, managed by Witherell's auction house of Sacramento, is perfectly timed for holiday shopping and gift giving. Register to bid at witherell's.com/ auctions/upcoming. “Since every dollar we raise through the auction goes directly to the shelter, that means more funding for animal care—spaying, neutering, vaccines and wellness checks,” Fairchild says. For more information, visit sspca.org/ online-benefit-auction.
In September, Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, Sen. Dr. Richard Pan and City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela presented $1 million to the Latino Center of Art & Culture to renovate the building at Winn Park for the organization’s future use. “I can’t wait to see it come alive with activity under the stewardship of this amazing organization,” Valenzuela says. Founded in 1972, the Latino Center of Art & Culture is a multi-disciplinary cultural center offering Latinx programming, art education workshops and a community gathering space. The center is a partner in the Sacramento Artist Corps, which has helped artists continue producing art during the pandemic. For more information, visit thelatinocenter.org.
REGIONAL LATINO ECONOMIC REPORT The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has released its inaugural Regional Latino Economic Report, which highlights important trends in population, education, employment and economics in Greater Sacramento’s Hispanic communities. The study found that El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties are home to more than 560,000 Hispanic residents. About 83% of those living in the Sacramento region are of Mexican heritage. The median family income
for Hispanic households in the region is $61,300, which is only three-quarters of the median income of non-Hispanic households. Education-wise, 17% of the region’s Hispanic population has at least a bachelor’s degree, which represents less than half the rate of educational attainment in the non-Hispanic population. The graduation rate for high school Latinos is 82%, which is 6% below the graduation rate for white students. Hispanics are more likely to rely solely on smartphones for access to the internet, lack health insurance coverage, work jobs that cannot be completed remotely and suffer higher unemployment rates. In personal interviews, Hispanic students expressed the significant financial burden of the pandemic, in addition to anxieties about COVID-19 exposure for family members working “essential jobs.” All participants believed the pandemic highlighted the underappreciated work of Hispanics employed in agriculture and service industries, and Hispanics are more important to the economic future of the region than ever before. For more information, visit sachcc.org.
LATINX GRANTS Sacramento State has received $8 million from two Department of Education grants to support Latinx and other underrepresented student groups.
