20th Anniversary Worldwide Painting Giveaway

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost 20 years since I started to give away paintings across the U.S. and around the world. Since then, I've given away over 3,000 paintings in all 50 states and in many different countries. To celebrate the 20th anniversary* of my kindness-related project, I'd like to send paintings to the 100+ countries where paintings have not been given away. My goal is to find a Smile Ambassador per country and give that ambassador one painting to keep as a gift and another to give away. To accomplish this, I'll need to raise money for art supplies (I will paint at least 260 8x10 canvases), packaging materials, shipping costs, promotion, and billable painting hours. I hope you will consider donating to my pay-it-forward-themed global project.

Here's a video on how to become a Smile Ambassador (via Tufts University**):

So far, over fifty Smile Ambassadors have signed up to give away paintings in their respective countries. I've received photos from the following countries: Algeria, Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Palau, Romania, Rwanda, Tanzania, Tunisia and Vatican City. You can see pictures from these countries and the list of 100+ nations I need to reach via this link: http://bataclan.com/Countries_100_Plus.html

Thank you -- and here's to the power of kindness through art!

Bren

*The first painting I gave away was in October 2003. The note said, "This painting is yours if you promise to smile at people more often." I still write the same note :)

**I became an Artist Fellow with the Cultural Diplomacy Initiative at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University in 2022. The program will help me reach my 100-plus painting giveaway goal. Please click on the underlined text to see more info.