Social and Economic Action for Lebanon is hosting a silent auction at Openhouse Gallery Thursday June 2. Essentially a public-works organization, SEAL focuses largely on agriculture and water-supply jobs, piping irrigation to village farms and supplying residents with orchard trees. They’ve also built housing for fishermen in Tyre, Lebanon, a project featured in the Economist, as well as raised money for women’s education and children’s books. The not-for-profit organization was founded in 1997 by a group of Lebanese-American bankers to help create jobs in Lebanon, especially for the lower classes.

All proceeds from SEAL’s silent auction at Openhouse Gallery go to community-building projects. Tickets at the door are $20 and art from renowned painters like Mona Hatoum and Nabil Nahas will range from $500 to $15,000. Lebanese appetizers are provided by Ilili Restaurant in Manhattan and wine by Paumanok Vineyards on Long Island. SEAL raises roughly $50,000 through art auctions each year, says board member Adla Moukarzel.