Original works of art made by Hollywood celebrities, politicians and local community notables go up for auction Saturday, Jan. 22, as part of “Soulplates: Celebrity Art Extravaganza”, a fundraiser for Being Alive San Diego, a nonprofit organization that provides support, access to information and resources, public advocacy and social interaction for people living with HIV and AIDS.

There are 99 plates up for auction, including plates decorated by Elizabeth Taylor, John Lithgow, Maria Shriver, Kathy Najimy, Tony Gwynn, Christo, Deepak Chopra, City Councilmember Toni Atkins, State Senator Christine Kehoe, County Supervisor Ron Roberts, City Councilmember Donna Frye, San Diego Zoo Director Doug Myers, San Diego Board of Education President Sue Hartley and San Diego Symphony Conductor Jahja Ling.

“We keep getting calls in that things are on the way that we haven’t seen yet, so I don’t know what the plates look like,” said Shannon Wagner, executive director of Being Alive San Diego. “But Judith Light is sending one in this week, Camryn Manheim is sending one in this week, Barbra Streisand last week.”

Streisand’s plate is a picture of herself with the words “Happy Days” and her signature.

“We wanted to make sure that the autograph would be prominent, because that’s really what people are wanting,” Wagner added.

Jack O’Brien, a local Tony award-winning director who produces plays at The Old Globe Theater among others, is the evening’s honorary chair. O’Brien, who decorated a Hairspray-themed plate, drafted a letter asking for participation and was responsible for getting a large portion of the respondents.

The event has been in the planning process for nine months, and is the first fundraiser Being Alive has done without using a producer. They hope to make it an annual event.

“Our hope is that eventually it’ll get to the point where people are annoyed if they weren’t asked,” Wagner said. “Like, ‘Wasn’t my plate good enough? How come nobody asked me? I can’t believe you didn’t ask me to do it again!’ Our goal is to have it be something where people are really excited and want to do it.”

Roy Johnson, owner of Sumner and Dene Galleries and a longtime AIDS activist and fundraiser, has been providing technical assistance for participants at a loss about how to decorate their plates.

Some plates are painted with designs or line drawings, and others utilized collage and photographs. Plates will start bidding at around $50, Wagner said.

“I was really honored to be asked, but I was a little nervous because I don’t consider myself an artist,” said Big Mike Phillips, a local bartender and co-founder of Ordinary Miracles, who decorated a plate this year with the Hillcrest sign. “The reason I did what I did was because I thought, since it was Being Alive, that I should focus on our community being Hillcrest more or less.”

Local artists have contributed framed prints, hand-painted martini glasses, ceramic bowls and plates and photography to the auction, and the artist Christo contributed several large original framed prints as well.

Phillips submitted a framed photograph he took in Amsterdam. “I hope that they’re very successful in their first year,” he added, “and I hope it’s something they can continue to help keep Being Alive alive.”

Many of the plate-decorators will be attending the auction, including most of the politicians who participated. “We’re not sure if the governor is going to be able to make it or not,” Wagner said. “…At this point, I know that Susan Sullivan the actress will be there. There will be a couple of others, but I don’t know whom.”

Being Alive fared well through the holidays, Wagner said, but recent HIV-funding cuts across the nation mean that the agency is preparing to batten down the hatches. “The funding cuts have just been exorbitant,” she said. “And it’s been that way for everybody – we’re certainly not in this alone. There’s really no winning. If you go to a meeting and yours isn’t cut, you’re going to hear about the 10 programs that were. They’re all very valuable, too. So it’s been a very painful process.”

Being Alive receives funding from the city of San Diego, the County Department of Housing and the Ryan White CARE Act.

“In some states there are waiting lists now just to get the drugs, let alone any support services, and people have already begun dying,” she said. “That’s not happened in this state, but we’re bracing and hoping that we don’t get there.”

Soulplates takes place from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Balboa Park Club. In addition to the collection of plates, there will be a silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, drinks, music and dancing. The silent auction will consist of vacations, theater tickets, dinners and local art. Tickets are $50. Call (619) 291-1400 for more information.