Bluerock Operations recently hosted two fundraising events in aid of Beating Hearts Malta. The first was an exhibition of Victor Grech’s art, entitled Precious Metals, works in gold, silver and copper on black recycled parquet flooring, held at Diamonds International in Portomaso on November 17 and 18. The exhibition was opened by architect Richard England.

“Inaugurating this exhibition is a threefold pleasure and honour... the purpose of this exhibition is to raise funds for those who are in need of special medical care. The second is that this exhibition and fundraising is the initiative of Prof. Victor Grech, now a much cherished and special friend...,” England said.

“I know Victor believes in the joy of giving and in the truism that while what we do for others lights up their lives, our act of giving radiates and illuminates our own lives even more intensely. It was Winston Churchill who said that ‘we live by what we get but we make life by what we give’; and the Bible also reminds us that ‘charity is indeed a holy vessel’.

“My third pleasure and honour is due to the fact that this event focuses not solely on altruistic charity, but on my own much-loved and cherished subject of art and painting... With the donation of his paintings, Victor manifests his belief that to give is to love... whose creed, belief and aims are perhaps best expressed in one of his favourite Star Trek personality’s words, those of Captain Pickard ‘to make yourself more than you are’.”

All of the paintings were sold.

The second event was the launch of the book A Tale of Four Cities: Valletta, Manhattan, Manchester, and Oslo by Victor Grech at Mavenry, The Point, on December 12. The book compares these four cities by using four sets of 25 matching photographs (100 in all), one set of 25 for each city. Themes across cities include, for example, skylines, contrasts, wealth inequality and religion. The photographs were taken with and edited on Grech’s Samsung S9 phone. Book design and print were sponsored by the Central Bank. It includes a foreword by England.

All proceeds from book sales will go to Beating Hearts Malta and Save and Support Trust.

To purchase a copy (120 pages, 30x30cm, hardbound, dust jacket, coffee- table style, €50), contact Beating Hearts Malta on Facebook or e-mail katrina.aquilina@gmail.com.

Additional sponsors include Casapinta Events, Alliance Real Estate, Express Trailers and R Living, among others.