Art and Design Auction
The Kansas City Art Institute hosts an Art and Design auction every other year as a benefit for student scholarships. Auction items are donated by faculty and alumni, and classic 20th century design pieces are acquired with assistance from local design and architectural firms.
The next Art and Design Auction will take place in 2011. But you can get a feel for the event from the recap (below) of the 2009 Art and Design Auction, which raised nearly $500,000 for the student scholarship fund.
Art and Design Auction 2009
An event like none other in Kansas City. the 2009 Art & Design Auction was held on the KCAI campus on June 6th. This was our most successful Auction yet, raising almost $500,000 for the student scholarship fund and hosting over 700 guests. The event was chaired by Jane Voorhees and David & Martha Immenschuh. The Durwood Foundation, represented by Charles Egan and Raymond Beagle, was the Honorary Chair.
The event featured:
Over 250 incredible art and design items,
live and silent auctions,
student art demonstrations,
open bars,
gourmet dinner buffet,
live entertainment,
special prizes and packages.
Our students
"Scholarships not only support us monetarily but also show us that there are people who believe in us."
-- Patti Krueger '08
"Every dollar counts. My scholarships made me work really hard in school to get and keep them."
-- junior Allie Quaiver.
More than 95 percent of Art Institute students count on financial aid in order to pursue their artistic dreams - with the student loan crisis, the funds raised at this year's event had a greater impact this year than ever before. All proceeds from the Auction benefited student scholarships.
Special guest artist: egawa+zbryk
The collaborative team of Rie Egawa and Burgess Zbryk create modernist work that blurs the line between design and art. These up-and-coming artists, who live and work in the metropolitan area, were recently featured in Dwell magazine. Their emphasis is on sculptural home furnishings, most being large pieces of furniture.
Please visit their website for more information: www.egawazbryk.com. To view more of the artists' work click here.
Images: String Chair, Puzzle Screen close-up, and Kune Kune
Biennial sculpture competition
Anna Buckthorpe, "Domestic Geometry"
Every other year,
In 2009, three winners were selected to have their design concepts realized by A. Zahner Company’s world-class fabrication team. Members of the selection jury included Diane Albert from Botwin Family Partners; Porter Arneill from the Municipal Art Commission; David Immenschuh from BNIM; Stacey Jones from Crawford Architects; Steve Paul from The Kansas City Star.
The sculpture design competition was established to facilitate interaction between these talented sculpture artists and the architectural and interior design industry in an attempt to enrich the city with new artworks, gain professional experience for the students and showcase their emerging talent. The artists work alongside experts in the field in order to design, model and carry out the fabrication of their artwork in a collaborative format.
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Previous winners
Past competition winners were Reilly Hoffman, whose piece “Oculus” sold at the auction for $35,000, and Rachel Thomas, whose piece “Light Filter” was purchased for $30,000.
"Oculus" by Reilly Hoffman and "Light Filter" by Rachel Thomas.
Patron party
Generously hosted by Margaret Silva, A special patron party was held for guests who give at the patron level and above. Guests were invited to enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in her new art-inspired River Market loft on Thursday, May 28.
About the Loft
This art-inspired Kansas City loft was an experience of a unique example of responsible living for the 21st century. The walls dissolve into random woven canvasses with expansive recycled glass terrazzo flooring that is heated by the sun via roof-top solar panels. Ascend the stairway, suspended from the loft's concrete structure and sculpted from blackened steel and reclaimed wood, to the upper level living area which features a coy glimpse of downtown's signature skyscrapers. Enjoy the fishpond as you sit on the terrace, appreciating the intimate scale of the River Market and enjoying a cocktail.
Some of the loft’s unique eco-friendly features include unseen construction materials that help maximize indoor air quality, like insulation made from discarded blue jean fabric, paperless drywall and low VOC paints. Custom cabinetry throughout the space is crafted from thin strips of wood grown in sustainable forests that would have otherwise become waste material. The loft’s interior illumination includes the new wave of LED lighting, here powered by roof-top solar-voltaic panels in a living space that uses a fraction of the electricity of a typical home. This extraordinary home is a unique place of peace and calm set upon the pace of Kansas City's redeveloping urban fabric.