CORAL (Centro Oaxaqueño de Rehabilitación de Audición y Lenguaje) is a non-profit organization that provides assistance to deaf and hearing impaired people and their families in Oaxaca, one of the poorest states in Mexico. While most of its funding comes from private donations and local charitable foundations, in recent years CORAL has held Mexican fine art charity auctions to maintain and expand its operations.
Auctions have been held in Mexico City, promoting works by predominantly Oaxacan artists. In 2012, the charity will cast the net even further by bringing the auction to San Francisco. CORAL recognizes that art, as an important component of Mexican material culture, has a strong appeal to collectors.
Fundraising in the US for worthy causes in Oaxaca is nothing new. In fact, most charities (including CORAL) are affiliated with American charities or otherwise registered to allow donors to get the benefit of a tax deduction. FOFA (Friends of Oaxacan Popular Art) holds an annual sale in New York to raise funds for up-and-coming young artists of Oaxacan folklore.
Going beyond the borders of the state of Oaxaca to auction their fine art is not difficult to understand. Megan Glore, in charge of fundraising for the CORAL auction, clarifies:
“For decades, Oaxacan art has not only had a national reputation for quality, but many Oaxacan artists have gained international recognition; take for example the great masters of Mexican art Rufino Tamayo and Rodolfo Morales, and of course, Francisco Toledo .
“For next month’s auction in Mexico City (November 9, 2011, at the Radisson Paraíso Hotel) we have hired one of the best auctioneers in Mexico, Paco de la Peña from Guadalajara, to auction works by strictly Oaxacan artists. . There will be works by prominent artists such as Demián Flores, Rubén Leyva, Sergio Hernández, Dr. Lakra, Enrique Flores, Guillermo Olguín, Arnulfo Mendoza, Shinzaburo Takeda and yes, even Maestro Toledo.
Glore’s belief is no doubt fueled by the fact that Mexico City is home to some of the wealthiest Mexicans, many of whom are patrons of the arts and indeed conscious of charity work. CORAL’s four-pronged program has grown steadily since 1988 when the seeds of today’s organization were first planted with the pioneering work of Oregonians Dr. Richard Carroll and Dr. Nancy Press.
CORAL now boasts one of the most impressive multifaceted and comprehensive outreach programs of its kind in all of Mexico:
• An audiology clinic for testing and diagnosis, repair and maintenance of hearing aids and hearing-related accessories, and ongoing support.
• A child therapy center (with parental involvement as a prerequisite) with group sessions and individualized treatment.
• An early detection program designed to identify and treat children from infancy. CORAL educates public health clinicians to recognize and assess hearing loss behaviors; clinicians can then help parents identify normal child development.
• A social work component whereby staff travel throughout the state capital and to smaller rural communities to serve the deaf and hard of hearing through education, monitoring and resourcing.
But can the auction now being organized for San Francisco in May 2012 even come close to matching the profits it anticipates generating from the Mexico City fundraiser? In Glory’s mind there is little or no doubt. “San Francisco has a reputation for having a strong art market,” she explains. “Just as important,” she continues, “the people of Northern California have a particularly strong and enduring connection to Oaxaca, as well as an appreciation for the art of Mexico.”
Mexican art, and indeed Oaxacan art, has been exhibited over the years far beyond the nation’s capital and into the US, throughout Europe and the Middle East, Australia, South America and even Japan. It doesn’t take a leap of faith to trust that a Mexican charity with a mission as worthy as CORAL’s will succeed in its foray into fundraising through fine art auctions, in Mexico and internationally.