With an assist from four beloved baseball stars and one renowned American muralist, Christopher Ahlgrim '06 is hoping to raise $1 million for the USO.
In June, Ahlgrim and his partners helped launch SignatureART “Champions” project, which brought together Major League Baseball legends Vida Blue, Tommy John, Gaylord Perry and Tom Seaver to paint an 8-by-12-foot mural designed by master artist Vincent Perez.
The mural, painted and autographed by all four players and the artist, was completed in September and made its debut in Times Square in New York City on Sept. 11. SignatureART will take the mural on a 45-city tour beginning in January.
To help reach their goal of $1 million raised for the USO, Ahlgrim, Signature ART and Timeless Frames, a custom framing company, created limited-edition poster prints of the “Champions” mural and a very limited number of hand-numbered, autographed, museum-quality prints. Both prints are available for purchase online.
After the tour, Ahlgrim says, the original mural will be exhibited at a gallery, but the details have not yet been determined.
A principal at Bergen-Wild, a licensing agency in Watertown, N.Y., Ahlgrim hopes the “Champions” tour will allow him to bring the mural to Elon, where he graduated in 2006 with a degree in biology and had intentions of becoming a dentist. But as he was preparing to take his dental school entry exams, he ran into a family friend who happened to own the rights to some Grateful Dead artwork. Seizing the chance to go into business for himself, he and his mother, Jill, launched their own T-shirt company and later founded Bergen-Wild.
Now, Ahlgrim says, he’s not only focused on growing his company but also leveraging the momentum of the “Champions” project to make a difference in his community.
“This is the biggest project we’ve ever done, and it’s really opened my eyes to the possibilities of working with charities,” he says. “We’re looking forward to making SignatureART a series, in which we’ll partner with notable individuals to raise $1 million for different charities.”
Want to know if “Champions” will be coming to a venue near you, or interested in purchasing a print? Visit the “Champions” website.
(photos courtesy of SignatureART)