RACINE - Going once, going twice … SOLD! Those words will ring out loud and clear on Monument Square Saturday morning when the Chair-i-ties Auction returns to Downtown. This annual event, which serves as a fundraiser for the city's Main Gallery youth employment program, features a variety of original works of art for sale, some of which double as furniture.

All of the art for sale has been created by youth working in the Main Gallery program. This summer's crop of young artists have turned out a range of pieces including park benches, bird baths and feeders, tables, photographs, calendars and (of course), the event's namesake - chairs.

And, while many of them would like to be able to hold onto their creations (which they've labored over since June), they will offer them up for the cause and hope that they earn a good price.

The auction, after all, is part of the learning process that Main Gallery is all about, according to Toby Prioletta, instructor for the multimedia segment of this summer's program. "This is as much about learning job skills as it is about art," said Prioletta.

One of her students, Alex Rohner, described her first time in front of the auction crowd, introducing her art work, as "nerve-wracking." Still, she learned from that experience and enjoyed her work with Main Gallery so much that she returned to the program a second and third year.

"I just love working with other students who love to paint," said the 16-year-old Park High School student. "And I enjoy being able to do something to help beautify Racine."

Christopher Mayfield, who is working with the furniture section of Main Gallery this summer, said that friendships are another benefit of the program.

"You meet a lot of really nice people and you learn how to make something out of nothing." Prioletta is one of four working artists leading this year's Main Gallery sessions. Others are David Castaneda, furniture; Denise Zingg, photography; and Jane Hobbs-Cascio, mosaic mural.

Castaneda, who has worked with the program since its inception, says one of the messages he likes to give his apprentices is that they shouldn't take the auction price of their piece personally.

A piece that doesn't get a high bid may just not have found the right buyer, he said.

"I am proud of them all."

To the audience, Prioletta says don't let the word auction scare you off. While some items go for as much as $700, others can be purchased for as little as $20.

"Even if you don't bid, it is a fun, social kind of thing," she said.

Some artwork donated to community

In addition to the pieces offered for sale at the auction, participants in the Main Gallery program also create public artwork that is donated to the community. This year, the group, led by artist Jane Hobbs-Cascio, has created a mosaic mural that will be installed on a wall near the new stairway to Zoo Beach upon its completion.

Past public art projects created by Main Gallery students include the Zoo Bus, the mural outside Sixth Street's Historic Century Market and the mural in Crosswalk Park, off Downtown's Main Street.

The Main Gallery program

The Main Gallery summer employment program is open to young people, ages 14 to 19, who are interested in the arts. Participants not only learn a variety of creative skills and techniques, but obtain job experiences ranging from accountability to communication skills, while earning a paycheck. No prior experience is necessary to apply. The number of openings each summer is limited. Applications for the 2008 summer program will be available from Racine's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department as of March 1, 2008.

In its 13 years, the Main Gallery program has employed and educated more than 500 young people from throughout Racine County. Funding for the program, which is run by the city's Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department, is dependent on donations from sponsors. This year's sponsors include the United Way, the Johnson Wax Fund, the Wisconsin Arts Board, the Osborne & Scekic Family Foundation, the Racine Arts Council and anonymous donors.

For more information, call Jason Mars at (262) 636-9226.

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How To Go

WHAT: Chair-i-ties Auction for the Main Gallery program

WHEN: Viewing starts at 10 a.m. and the auction will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

WHERE: Monument Square, between Fifth and Sixth streets along South Main Street.

WHO: Bob Hageman, registered auctioneer, will preside over the bidding.

COST: Admission is free.

INFO: Call the Racine Arts Council at (262) 635-0261