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Upon hearing that Field Hospital No. 5 (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) was lacking more than 20 specialized beds for treating Covid-19 patients, art researcher Ly Doi and his colleague Le Quang Dong Quan volunteered to participate in a Facebook auction to raise funds to purchase resuscitation beds.
Reportedly, a bed at a field hospital currently costs around 21-22 million VND. The group plans to raise approximately 90-100 million VND through art donations and auctions, enough to provide 4-5 intensive care beds.
In just 24 hours of requesting artwork, the group received nearly 100 submissions, and after filtering, they selected almost 70 suitable pieces. This was a surprising number, as the group had initially only anticipated receiving 20 pieces, which they considered extremely fortunate.
The painting "Hanoi in Autumn" by the late artist Nguyen Quoc Thai.
To date, more than 90 paintings donated by over 80 artists and collectors are being auctioned. Contributions include works by renowned artists, professionals, amateurs, and art collectors. The auctioned works include paintings by famous artists such as: Luu Cong Nhan, Nguyen Quoc Thai, Le Trieu Dien, Thanh Chuong, Pham An Hai, Dinh Quan, Bui Tien Tuan…
Three auctions raised approximately 1 billion VND, which was used to purchase 20 intensive care beds (totaling 380 million VND), 2 ventilators (360 million VND), and 10 wheelchairs (35.5 million VND). These medical equipment items have been and are being delivered to Field Hospital No. 5.
The paintings were auctioned off to raise funds for the purchase of medical equipment.
Speaking about his unconventional act of asking for paintings to sell to buy beds for field hospitals, researcher Ly Doi wrote on his personal page: "In charitable endeavors like this, artists and collectors always know they'll ask for paintings whenever they see me. They ask so often, I feel very uncomfortable. Now, the situation is urgent, everyone is struggling, so I don't dare send private messages asking for paintings, but for the first time, I'm asking publicly. If any of you, friends and colleagues, are willing to help, please send a picture of your painting via message, or comment with a picture of your painting below. I only dare to bother you this once, hoping to contribute about 4-5 beds."
Collector Hieu Nguyen gifted the lacquer painting "Nhi Kieu" by artist Dinh Quan.
With the aim of selling the paintings quickly to purchase medical equipment, the paintings were sold at prices lower than their actual value. "Offering a low price in this situation is understandable; it makes it easier to sell and allows for faster collaboration," said artist Bui Tien Tuan.
Today, August 23rd, there will be a special auction of paintings by the family of the late artist Nguyen Quoc Thai, artist Nguyen Quoc Thang, and artist Ngo Binh Nhi. Over the past 10 years, the family has donated many artworks through charity fundraising events. This time, they are donating 7 pieces.
