BARKA Foundation Art Auction Tonight in Swampscott

Creative WaterWorks, an art silent auction, photography display, and art show fundraiser for The BARKA Foundation will be presented at the Gaga Gallery in Swampscott on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 5 to 8 p.m.

This event is sponsored by the Swampscott High School Interact, the youth branch of the Swampscott Rotary International. BARKA is a UN affiliated NGO based in MA working for clean water in Burkina Faso, Africa.

This non-profit built sustainable waterwells in the village of Tantiaka and is currently working on doing the same in the nearby village of Lampiadi.

Building access to clean water saves lives and improves livelihood for people in these African villages. Original art donated by local notable artists will be for sale by silent auction.

After hanging for three weeks, the art will be sold to the highest bidder.

Proceeds will go toward ensuring people in BurkinaFaso have access to clean water. On display at the Gaga event will be hundreds of photos taken by the people of Burkina Faso through the digital camera donation project of the Interact.

Last year, 18 digital cameras were collected by the Swampscott High School Interact Club and donated to Gaoussou“Peace” Sarambe, a BARKA staffer and English teacher in BurkinaFaso. Ten of these donations were new cameras donated by the Greater Lynn Photographic Association.

Peace distributed these cameras to students in 3 schools in Fada N’Gourma, Burkina Fasoand formed a photo club to teach how to use the cameras.

The resultant images, “Life in Burkina Faso” will be hanging in the Gaga Gallery. These images include several of the water wells and the people using them.

The community is invited to attend the opening of this artful event at the Gaga Gallery. Food will be served.

Beyond a fundraiser, the work raises consciousness to global water issues.