Video ~ Big Boi’s Big Kidz Celebrity Fundraiser

Antwan “Big Boi” Patton held the 5th Annual fundraiser for his Big Kidz Foundation last Saturday evening.  Joined by his beautiful wife, Sherlita, Big was a gracious host as he took time to mingle and greet each and every one of his invited guests.

The evening’s theme was “Canvas for Kids” and Big, along with a few of his celebrity friends like T.I., Martha Stewart, Andre 3000, Idris Elba, Ludacris, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Janelle Monae and more, all contributed an original piece of artwork to auction off for the kids.

Big even contributed a bit of his own cash to the cause! He came out of pocket with $1,800 after winning a bidding war for George Clinton’s masterpiece.

Big Boi, Jennifer Lester (Big Kidz), Faizon Love

The event, hosted by funnyman Faizon Love aka Big Worm and was held at the Mason Murer Fine Arts Gallery. Jennifer Lester, executive director of Big Kidz foundation, explained the goal for the evening and addressed the issue of school budget cuts, stating:

We asked several celebrities to create one-of-a-kind canvases to be auctioned off at the height of this evening, so we aren’t only excited to have the support of the city of Atlanta with the mayor creating a piece, we also hope to raise a lot of money for the arts, because we know that millions of dollars, not only in Atlanta, but throughout Georgia, have been cut from the school budget and the art programs and the extracurricular activities are the first to go.

The top selling piece of the evening was T.I.’s “King” creation, which sold for $2,200. I don’t have a photo of it but picture this… a crown drawn in the center of the canvas sprinked with a drizzling of paint drippings. Yeah… it’ll be worth millions one day.

An ode to Andre’ 3000

ATLien of StraightFromTheA.com & Big Boi

Attorney Phaedra Park’s Piece signified her love of the legal profession.

Big Boi’s objective with his Big Kidz Foundation is to introduce kids to the arts and humanities. With schools these days cutting budgets for these types of programs, it is his hope to provide a solution for kids in the form of activities geared towards keeping their creativity alive.

“Having the arts program is very important. It gives kids something to look forward to besides the schoolwork,” he said. “We want to provide a forum where kids can be creative and express themselves.

We’re all about the arts and supporting music and theater and whatever else they want to do.”

CLICK HERE for more information on Big Boi’s Big Kidz Foundation.

Props to BE Magazine for the photos!

CLICK HERE to view more photos from this event.