L.A. art galleries holding charity auction for Haiti earthquake victims

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Eleven Los Angeles art galleries are coming together tonight to hold an auction intended to help victims of the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake.

The silent auction will take place at the Mandrake, located near Culver City, starting at 7 p.m. Promoters of the event said all funds raised will go directly to the Red Cross and are 100% tax-deductible. Bidding on items will start as low as $100.

Participating galleries will auction off work by emerging and mid-career artists from around the U.S. The galleries include: Zach Feuer Gallery, Kim Light/LightBox, Honor Fraser Gallery, Patrick Painter Inc, Ooga Booga, Kinkead Contemporary, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, Robert Berman Gallery, Marc Richards Gallery, Kopeikin Gallery and Cherry and Martin Gallery.

So far, the auction features work by 38 artists, with organizers saying they are adding names until the event begins. The auction will accept bids until 9 p.m.

Artists whose work will be featured in the auction include Kim McCarty, Gustavo Godoy, Sayre Gomez, Comora Tolliver, James Welling and Thaddeus Strode. The auction will also feature work by Josh Atlas, who is co-organizing the event with Alex Couri.

A handful of other cultural organizations around the country are also organizing benefits and other events to help earthquake victims in Haiti. Here are some of the benefits that are scheduled to take place over the next week.

• Seattle Symphony Orchestra (Today): The symphony will be accepting donations on behalf of The American Red Cross International Response Fund at its free community concert at 7 p.m. at Seattle’s Mercer Middle School.

• Songs for Haiti (Thursday): This Portland, Ore., concert aims to raise upward of $25,000 for the Haiti disaster relief efforts of Mercy Corps. The concert, which takes place at 7:30 p.m. at the Aladdin Theater, will feature Pink Martini pianist Thomas Lauderdale and members of Portland’s Cello Project.

• National Symphony Orchestra (Friday): Proceeds from the 8 p.m. performance by the NSO in Washington, D.C., will go to the Haiti Relief and Development Fund of the American Red Cross.

• San Francisco Boys Chorus (Sunday): Proceeds from the 5 p.m. concert will go to the Catholic Relief Services Haiti Response Fund. The concert will feature the SFBC with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, along with members of the San Francisco Opera Chorus.

-- David Ng