Author: Ed Fong
After the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTI) oil cratered in the summer of 2014 from a high of $107.04 US/barrel to a low of $26.55 US/barrel on Jan 20, 2016, many of us in Alberta have endured a long period of pain and hardship. Businesses like us, in the discretionary retail sector, did not escape the carnage of an economy so reliant on a single commodity. In these tough economic times, the partners believe that it is even more important now to help others if we can. With this backdrop in mind, deVine Wines is pleased to announce its support for Edmonton’s Food Bank.
You can learn more about Edmonton’s Food Bank here..
During difficult economic times, funding for the arts is often the first to be cut. We at deVine Wines believes that art, in its many forms, is worthy of support, nurturing and creation, at all points of a business cycle. Therefore, we have chosen to support the Neon Sign Museum as our second Charity of Choice and to launch a new program called Walls Alive. Our goal in supporting the Neon Sign Museum is to raise money to recreate one of Edmonton’s lost iconic neon signs, that of the Seven Seas Restaurant.
You can learn more about the Neon Sign Museum here..
You can view the lost Seven Seas neon sign here in black and white..
A colorized version can be found here..
Walls Alive
Charitable works does not always revolve around raising funds for recipient organizations or groups. At times, groups may simply need support from the community to showcase their works. This is certainly the case for many aspiring visual artists.
Walls Alive is a proposed initiative where businesses can donate their wall space to a visual artist to showcase his or her works. In essence, the business is supplying a venue for the artist to display art and providing an opportunity to connect artist with patron.
deVine Wines has donated wall space to many artist since our doors first opened in 2004. The Walls Alive program aims to knit together other businesses on 104th-Street that share a likeminded view of helping out visual artist. The partners at deVine Wines plan to reach out to their neighbors on 104th-St. to see if a cohesive visual arts display program can be developed for the street. Hopefully, this initiative will lead to an “Art Walk” type event found in many other neighborhoods in the city.
Our first Walls Alive partnership has just been established. deVine Wines will showcase the works of visual artist Nosheen Pervez on its walls and at future upcoming events. Nosheen will be on hand during the November 3, 2018 Great Whiskies of the World Fundraiser and Art Show. As well, Nosheen will donate a piece of her work to the online silent auction in support of Edmonton’s Food Bank. Please visit Nosheen’s website here to view her portfolio and get more information about her inspirations.