Posting Date: December 8, 2009
KSU artists featured at Georgia Lawyers for the Arts gala
By Jarmea L. Boone
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Katherine Taylor (left) and Rachel Wade |
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(from left) J. Morgan Booker, Marcy Starz and Rachel Wade Photos courtesy of Rachel Wade |
Each year, Associate Professor of Art Robert Sherer helps the Georgia Lawyers for the Arts by soliciting artists to donate artworks for GLA’s annual silent art auction. GLA is a nonprofit organization with a network of over 500 volunteer attorneys who provide "pro bono" legal assistance and educational programming to limited-income artists and non-profit arts organizations in Georgia.
This year’s annual fundraising gala was held on Nov. 20 at the Mason Murer Gallery in Atlanta. The focus of the event was the auction, as the organization relies on artist donors to donate their works to make the event a success. The gala is a critical part of GLA’s fundraising efforts, as it provides the primary source of daily operating funds that allow the organization to assist and educate artists in all disciplines. In addition, they use funds to continue to expand their resource library that contains sample contracts, copyright information and more than 250 volumes that artists, arts organizations, museums, galleries, attorneys and other members of the public can utilize. The art auction is an opportunity for artists to connect with attorneys and businesspeople who are interested in the arts community and arts patronage.
KSU artists who donated work received a complimentary ticket to the event, as well as a complimentary annual membership to GLA. During her speech to the attendees, Lisa Moore, the executive director of the GLA, honored and thanked Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne and Prof. Sherer for their many years of service to the GLA.
Sherer has been happy to help. “This year’s auction was full of surprises for our students," he says. "The majority of them made sales, many of them for the first time. Some of them sold their art works for prices far beyond the expected. This year, the KSU artists brought business cards and networked the crowd of lawyers and their spouses."
“I was very happy and proud to find out that my oil painting, ‘Waterfall in Yellowstone Park,’ sold,” says KSU artist Gunda Perry.
The KSU artists, current and alumni, who donated pieces to the GLA auction included Jonathan Terry, Shane McDonald, Brook Schulze, Katherine Taylor, Gunda Perry, Deanna Roland, Chris Neuenschwander, Robert Sherer, William Cash, Prof. Donald Robson, Ben Goldman, Kelly McKernan, Donna Shiver, Sarah Daly, Jessica Killpack, April Marten, Chasen Barry, Morgan Booker, Rachel Wade, Andrew Fishback, Adnaan Chaudhri, Mark Verlander, Sarah Wellman, Sheri Blight, Bryan Wilson, Marcy Starz and Annie Mekas.
Sherer says, “Donating time and art to charity auctions such as the GLA is an excellent way for young artists to break into the art market. Working with charities not only helps student-artists to connect with affluent art collectors but it also provides them with a sense of social responsibility.”