Perfect Pairs: The Artful Bras Show Almost Ready To Bare All

By Shannon Hicks

Newtown United, LLC, a committee of men and women of all ages and backgrounds, has been working since June to organize its first event, “Perfect Pairs: The Artful Bras Show.”

“Perfect Pairs” will be presented from 7 to 10 pm in The Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall on Saturday, October 23. The evening will include the exhibition and silent auction of more than 60 decorated bras, along with live music, appetizers and desserts, and even a fashion show; the details of the latter are being kept under wraps until 7:45 that evening, however.

Proceeds from the event will benefit Ann’s Place, The Home of I Can, the Danbury-based organization serving Connecticut and eastern New York residents with comfort and support to people living with cancer and to their loved ones.

For a few months residents and friends have been decorating bras, turning them from functional fashion that is meant to be hidden under a layer or two of clothing into works of art that deserve to be hung proudly by those who will place the winning bids during a gala event less than two weeks away.

“We’ve had people from age 15 to 89 decorating the bras,” said Rosemary Rau. The Newtown resident launched the idea for the local fundraiser, which itself is based on a project that debuted in South Carolina in 2006 as a way to raise funds for breast cancer awareness, through a series of small meetings at her home last spring. “The bras continue to amaze me when they are delivered,” she said, “and I can’t wait for everyone to see the imagination and creativity I have been seeing for the past few months.”

Bratistas — the name Mrs Rau has given to the bra artists, all of whom have donated their time and resources in order to participate — have been dropping off completed Art Bras at Mrs Rau’s home since early July. The collection, which was initially being stored in a back bedroom, has since expanded into the dining room at the home of Rosemary and Robert Rau.

“It’s just taken over,” Mrs Rau said with a laugh. “You walk into our house now and all this creativity just jumps out at you. It takes a minute for your eyes to figure out where to start looking.”

Each finished work has a name and a theme, such as JoAnn Bruno’s creation “Everything’s Coming Up Daisies.” Her finished design holds its basic shape, but is absolutely covered with white and yellow plastic daisies of varying sizes. Another piece, one of three bras decorated by Paula Hughes, “Sparkle Plenty,” has been covered in blue netting and sparkles in honor Ms Hughes’s grandmothers.

“Bras are the symbol of all this, but it’s also about the wish to research this disease,” Mrs Rau said in July when launching the project. “We want to support research, and also the programs that help people cope, whether they are the patient or a friend of someone with cancer.”

The Artful Bra project asks people to suspend their focus from the core of each work of art, to look beyond the base of each piece and see the finished product.

“This is nonconfrontational, nonsexual [art],” Mrs Rau emphasized. The gala and a Sunday afternoon marketplace are both meant to be enjoyed by all ages.

Evelyn Evagash’s art, in fact, is on view in the children’s department at C.H. Booth Library so that even the youngest library patrons can see the point being made by Mrs Rau and her fellow Newtown United committee members. Called “The C Word Can Be Scary,” the apparel that Ms Evagash started with has been transformed into a soft sculpture featuring a pair of smiling scarecrows, one wearing a tan hat and the other dressed in a red bonnet. The former bra straps have been replaced with raffia, which also serves as the “hair” of the scarecrows that peek out from under their headwear.

Tickets for “Perfect Pairs: The Artful Bras Show” are $25 each and advance purchase is strongly recommended. Tickets have been selling very well since the event’s announcement, according to Mrs Rau.

“They’re going very, very well,” she confirmed this week. “It’s been an overwhelming response.”

For additional information and tickets contact Mrs Rau at 203-426-2226.

Fall Marketplace

On Sunday, October 24, Newtown United LLC will present a Fall Marketplace. Also taking place in The Alexandria Room, the five-hour event will offer one last look at the decorated bras before they head home with their new owners. There will also be an arts and crafts show and sale, with more than 66 artists lined up for the event.

Admission for Sunday is $5, and can be paid at the door. Advance tickets are also available and can be purchased at Drug Center Pharmacy, 61 Church Hill Road; and C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street.

For additional information about Saturday or Sunday’s events contact Mrs Rau, Marianne Scanlon at 203-426-5283, or Marie Sturdevant at 203-740-2733. For gala tickets, contact Mrs Rau.