BiG Art Auction on the way

Brookwood in Georgetown is still selling tickets for their annual art auction “Made for BiG Moments” at the Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel on February 28. 

Brookwood, often referred to as BiG, is a nonprofit organization that operates a residential community and vocational programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. BiG also operates a cafe and retail store year-round, where items made by its citizens are sold to the public on 905 North Church Street. 

Proceeds from the art auction — including ticket and art sales — will go to BiG’s scholarship program. Last year, the 600 person event raised $1.1 million dollars. The event includes both a silent and a live auction, and guests will also get to hear from the citizens and families BiG has impacted. 

“What I love the most about that event is just the broader community, getting to experience the magic that is our citizens,” BiG CEO Elizabeth Griffin said. “People who see things that are for sale or that are being auctioned may think ‘there's no way someone with special needs made this’ because they have an assumption of what an individual special needs can or can't do.” 

The items for sale range from painting to jewelry, pottery and furniture. 

“It's all incredible, incredible artwork,” Ms. Griffin emphasized. 

The theme of this year’s auction, “Made for BiG Moments,” celebrates meaningful milestones in the lives of BiG citizens.

“We're just really celebrating the big moments in our citizens' lives, and what that looks like for them,” she said. 

Now in its 15th year, BiG hit a milestone of its own last spring, when it opened its new permanent residential community, Grace Place, on a 127-acre property between Georgetown and Weir. 

Brookwood recently completed a new vocational campus on its Grace Place property, which is expected to open in mid-spring and will provide vocational opportunities to between 24 and 32 new citizens.

To learn more about BiG, visit https://bigtx.org.