Blind artist's painting of all-new Volvo S60 goes on eBay auction with proceeds going to a charity based in Canada
The remarkable, blind Turkish artist Esref Armagan was invited to Volvo Car Corporation in Sweden to paint the as yet unseen next generation Volvo S60. His work was documented in a short film called "Volvo S60 Blind Preview" that was featured on blogs, YouTube, Facebook and other media and the company believed it was a huge success. From December 7, 8 pm CET to December 17 the painting will be auctioned on eBay and the proceeds will be donated to the World Blind Union, a charity based in Canada.
The all-new Volvo S60 is being launched in 2010 at the Geneva Motor Show. However, in October, 2009, Armagan was offered an exclusive preview of the car at Volvo Cars global headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden. He met with design director Peter Horbury who showed the artist the closely-guarded secret.
Using his hands as sensors, Armagan felt his way around the all-new Volvo S60 to understand its sculpted form and then painted the vehicle with his fingers dipped in paint. His work and progress was recorded on film. The resulting documentary, Volvo S60 Blind Preview, received an overwhelming reception from Volvo fans around the world. The film can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/VolvoCarsNews#p/u/2/7CNx3qTI8xA or www.facebook.com/volvo.
Now, Volvo Cars has decided to auction the painting on eBay.
"It was an amazing experience to work together with Esref Armagan", says Lukas Dohle, director of Live Communication and Social Media at Volvo Cars. "He truly embraces life and we think that his approach matches exactly how we at Volvo embrace life. Through this auction and the donation to World Blind Union we will take this rewarding corporation even one step further."
Armagan was born unsighted and taught himself to paint and draw in perspective, stunning scientists worldwide. His artwork shines with freedom of light and depth of colours and his work has garnered him attention from news organizations such as BBC and CNN.
The World Blind Union (WBU) is a registered Canadian charity and will be the benefactor of the auction, and will receive 100 percent of the proceeds. The WBU, which is a non-political, non-religious, non-governmental and non-profit organization, represents over 160 million blind and partially sighted persons in 177 member countries.
The auction will take place on eBay Canada but is accessible globally on www.ebay.com/volvo. The auction will run for ten days and starts on December 7 at 8pm to attract the greatest number of bidders in Europe, while allowing users on both sides of the US-Canada border to access the auction during daytime. The auction will end on December 17 at 8pm.
Volvo Cars of Canada Corp. is part of the Volvo Car Corporation of Göteborg, Sweden. The company provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to the 41 Volvo automobile retailers across the country. The company's product range includes the stylish and sporty C30, the elegant C70 hardtop convertible, the compact S40 sedan, the S60 sport sedan, the S80 flagship sedan and the versatile V50 and V70 wagon. For customers looking for a Volvo vehicle with all-road capability, the company offers the versatile XC70 and XC90. Volvo Canada is also expanding its line-up with the introduction of the new XC60, a crossover with the award-winning City Safety system on the standard equipment list.
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