Charitable Donations

I am often approached to donate my art to local charities.  Generally I am happy to do this as I see it as a way of supporting causes that are important to me and giving back to my community.  But I also have misgivings.  These misgivings stem from a growing concern that my charitable giving is helping add to the devaluation of artists' work.  Particularly since more and more organizations seem to be turning to art auctions and more and people seem to think that this is the best way to buy their art.

To be clear, in a community, participating or not participating in a charity auction is not so much an option for many artists as it is a responsibility.  We participate because as artists we are generally (and I do mean generally) more attuned to community needs given that many of us work to explore and express these ideas in our work. The challenge is that there are so many charities and the difference between an artist donating and other businesses is that the work we offer is generally one of a kind and original work.  It is not mass-produced and therefore not just one of many items we have purchased at wholesale prices that we can easily replace.  It represents a true investment of time, creative thought and materials.  Therefore when an artist donates their original work, they aren't just donating an auction item, they are truly donating their time.   This is the time that they take from their business.  How many other businesses can afford to donate so much time without being compensated? And, by charities raising their money more and more through art auctions are we furthering the notion of art as a give away commodity therefore devaluing the time that artists have invested?