Art & Design Auction 2009
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 2009 Art and Design Auction was held on the KCAI campus on June 6. This was our most successful auction, raising almost $500,000 for the student scholarship fund and hosting more than 700 guests. The event was chaired by Jane Voorhees and David and Martha Immenschuh. The Durwood Foundation, represented by Charles Egan and Raymond Beagle, was the honorary chair.
The event featured more than 250 art and design items, live and silent auctions, student art demonstrations, open bars, gourmet dinner buffet, live entertainment and 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 KCAI students depend on financial aid to pursue their artistic dreams. With the student loan crisis, the funds raised at the 2009 event made a huge impact on our students. All proceeds from the auction benefit 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 artists, who live and work in the metropolitan area, were recently featured in Dwell magazine. Their emphasis is on sculptural home furnishings, specifically large pieces of furniture.
For more information, visit www.egawazbryk.com. View more of the artists' work.
Images: String Chair, Puzzle Screen close-up, and Kune Kune
Biennial sculpture competition
Anna Buckthorpe, "Domestic Geometry"
Every other year, A. Zahner Company sponsors a design competition among the sculpture students at the Kansas City Art Institute. The winning piece(s) are realized by this world-class architectural metal fabricator and included in the Art and Design Auction to raise funds for student scholarships.
In 2009, three winners were selected to have their design concepts realized by A. Zahner. 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; and Steve Paul from The Kansas City Star.
The sculpture design competition was established to facilitate interaction between student 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.
See images of the three 2009 winners at Hands of the Artist.
Previous winners
Past competition winners were Reilly Hoffman, whose piece “Oculus” sold for $35,000, and Rachel Thomas, whose piece “Light Filter” was purchased for $30,000.
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.