The Chilean street art gallery Lira Arte Público and a group of artists organized a charity auction called “Persiste” with the participation of well-known talents such as INTI, Alejandro “Mono” González, Cekis, Caiozzama, Anis, Mical, Alme and Stfi. The event took place via online streaming and offered several workshop pieces for sale―with a total of 78 works by a variety of 39 emerging and established artists―featuring both local names and artists from abroad.
The auction system used an online catalog that offered participants a chance to preview pieces before buying. Bidding began on Friday the 14th at 8:00 p.m. and finished on Sunday, August the 16th at the same time. All of this took place on the Lira Arte Público website for the event: persiste.liraartepublico.com. At the completion of the auction on the 16th, a few special events were held including Q&A with artists from the catalog, addressing comments left by the community on the event Instagram account: @persiste_subasta and @liraartepublico
The organizers stressed that the event was non-profit and that neither the gallery nor the artists received a commission on sold pieces. Instead, in a show of solidarity with the community, all proceeds went to support art and culture related areas that had been severely impacted as a result of the ongoing pandemic.