Art for a Good Cause: C Magazine Fundraiser March 23

When I first came to Toronto in 2004, the folks at C Magazine were nice enough to give me an opportunity to try my hand at ad sales (at which I sucked, but by which I became extremely educated about how awesome and golden good ad sales people are) and magazine proofreading (at which I did a bit better, but which somehow doesn't seem as awesome). I also got to write some articles for C that I really enjoyed, like interviews with Noam Gonick, Ken Lum and Jerry Saltz, and reviews of interesting shows like the ICP's White.

Though I don't do much workwise with C anymore (unfortunately, they ain't the snappiest on the payment side—last time I checked in, 12 months post-publication was the cheque-receiving rule; hopefully it's improved?) I'm grateful for the opportunities they provide to developing writers and artists, as well as overlooked perspectives. I also think the somewhat recent redesign is pretty classy, and I'm encouraged to see the board undertaking more educational initiatives, like cschool, which I look forward to hearing more about. It seems like they're on an upward track. (Funny how that upward swing coincided with my total lack of involvement... hmmmm.... I think we're on to something here.)

It's all to say that it's worth taking note of C's upcoming fundraiser, a benefit auction taking place Tuesday, March 23 at Red Bull 381 Projects in Toronto. Works by Eve K. Tremblay, Maura Doyle, Kelly Jazvac, Charmaine Wheatley, Onya Hogan-Finlay, Melanie Authier and other interesting artists do make this one tempting. The online preview is up now, and a public preview happens March 20 from 1-4pm, if you're interested in seeing more so than buying.

More information on tickets ($40/$50) and other good stuff can be found at http://www.cmagazine.com/.