Kenny Belaey's charity auction for Beirut explosion relief
Trialbike legend Kenny Belaey auctions unique bikeart piece. Auction includes memorabilia of Hans Rey, Martin Maes, Nafi Thiam, Felix Denaeyer and Oklahoma City Thunder
On August 4, the Lebanese capital Beirut was hit by an unprecedented explosion. At least 190 people were killed, more than 6 500 injured and the material damage amounts to more than EUR 12.6 billion. Trialbiker and bike-artist Kenny Belaey has a special relationship with Lebanon. That is why, with the help of fellow elite athletes, he set up 'Turning Point', an auction for two local charities.
For 16 years globetrotting Kenny Belaey has been travelling around the world to promote his sport, trialbiking, in shows and competitions. Belaey visited more than 60 countries and 6 continents but he has a soft spot for Lebanon. This is where his international show career began in 2004. This year, the nine-time world champion even paid tribute to the natural beauty of the small Mediterranean country in a mountain bike video.
"In news on TV or online, we are almost daily bombarded with disasters and humanitarian catastrophes. I understand why this never-ending stream of misery beats us down and can lead to apathy. To the extent that such suffering provokes reactions like ‘It’s overwhelming, what on earth can we do about so much doom and gloom?' or 'I'm sorry for those people, but that's on the other side of the world, it has nothing to do with me' Kenny explains.
Ambulance and museum
"At least, that’s how it often goes until you actually have a human connection with a country that has been hit by a disaster. If you have family, friends or acquaintances in an affected area. Or if you have often been there and therefore have a clearer picture of what actually went down. That made the horrific images of Beirut all the more distressing because it looks nothing like the vibrant, cosmopolitan city I knew".
Belaey couldn’t just sit back and watch. He decided to organise an online auction on eBay in collaboration with the Lebanese NGO 'Make Your Mark'. Elias Hankach of Make Your Mark: "To make this action as effective as possible, we selected two specific goals together with Kenny. On the one hand, we want to donate raised funds to civil protection to buy an ambulance, and on the other hand, we want to support the restoration of the Sursock museum, a museum of modern and contemporary art. Sursock is located just 800 metres from the site of the explosion. The damage is therefore, understandably, pretty big”
Ever the DIY kind-of-guy Kenny Belaey is not only the initiator of the ‘Turning Point’ auction, he will also make his own financial contribution. "In its own way, Lebanon has already done a lot for me, this is the opportunity to do something in return. That is why I want to give a first push myself". So the first 5,000 dollars for Turning Point are already raised, but with unique collectibles from, among others, Olympic champion Nafi Thiam (Athletics heptathlon), European champion Félix Denayer (hockey), NBA team Oklahoma City Thunder, mountainbike stars Hans Rey and Martin Maes, snowboarder Seppe Smits, Kenny and Make Your Mark are of course hoping for much more.
Unique bikeart piece and initial reception
In the tradition of the 'action painters', Belaey has been indulging in a new passion for some time now: creating works of art using his bicycle and his world-renowned bike control. Especially for this auction, 'the Magician' created a new piece inspired by the Lebanese flag on the canvas. Unfortunately art aficionados won’t be able to bid on “Turning point”. The piece was immediately snatched up for almost 8.900 dollar (7.500 euro) by a an international arts collector as soon as the artwork became available!
Both the items of Hans Rey and Martin Maes were quickly sold too. Still up for grabs however is a set of brand new Hopetech Tech4 E4 brakes!
LINK to the online auction: https://befr.ebay.be/usr/kebel-9760
More about 'Make Your Mark Lebanon': https://www.facebook.com/MakeYourMarklb/
More about Sursock museum, Beirut: https://sursock.museum/
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.jpg "Artwork: \"Turning Point\" by Kenny Belaey")
.png "Overzicht veiling items")
veilingtems.pdf
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Sports stars in support of Beirut.doc
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Tom Jacobs