It all started with a six-year-old girl’s birthday party and a few blank My Little Pony dolls.
Talitha Whidbee initially bought the dolls for the children to decorate, but the parents ended up falling in love with the concept of turning pop culture icons into art. Despite the naysayers, imaginative renditions of My Little Ponies have a cult-like following on the Internet. Whidbee commissioned 16 artists and musicians to make something creative out of the plastic ponies for a silent auction to benefit a local charity. “I wanted artists to do something wonderful and fun outside of the normal medium,” Whidbee said. The festivities will go from 7 to 10 this evening. The ponies are for sale on starting at $6.95. There will be laptops available at the auction for bidding until 9. For those who cannot attend, but would still like to purchase a piece of ’80s nostalgia can bid online through the month of July. Champion Coffee is located at 1108 Manhattan Ave. in Brooklyn. There will be snacks, cocktails and beer offered. All of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to , an agricultural charity that promotes healthy and sustainable food practices in urban environments throughout the Northeast. Some of the artists that participated in the project include sculptor , visual artist Peter Miller and painter John Copeland. The ponies were christened with comical names like “I Love You Snacks” and “Lady Footmouth.” Whidbee hopes to make the event annual. She grew up playing with My Little Ponies and is hoping to pass on the tradition with an artistic twist to her daughter.
“It’s all about celebrating being in Brooklyn and being artists,” Whidbee said.