UA’s ‘Starry Night’ Arty Party Benefits Art and Art History

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A houndstooth club chair, your likeness painted into a mural in the new Tuscaloosa Federal Courthouse, an Alabama football signed by Coach Nick Saban, a trip with the Million Dollar Band to the Auburn football game, a VIP football package, and original works by Alabama artists are among some of the unique items that will be auctioned at the Arty Party fine arts fundraiser at The University of Alabama.

Woods Quad on the UA campus will be the focus for “Starry Night,” the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Board’s seventh Arty Party fundraiser to benefit student research in the department of art and art history. It will be held Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. in Woods Hall and surrounding buildings.

The gala will include a silent auction and a live auction, as well as cocktails, a gourmet dinner, and the Windgate Student Research Fellows Art Exhibition in the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art in Garland Hall.

“This is going to be a wonderful event for a wonderful cause,” said John Cranton, chair of the board’s Fine Arts Committee. “In the past it has been an exciting event for those who have come. For those who have not come before, they will be pleasantly surprised at how much fun they will have.”

“We have some really unusual and unique auction items that are really indicative of the quality of The University of Alabama and this event,” Cranton said.

Other items to be auctioned live include a romantic New York weekend stay for two; a Gulf cruise; a one week getaway to the beach or to Livingston, Mont.; fine wines; a New York jazz barbecue supper for 20, a handcrafted African-American quilt and a miniature casted version of “Goldie,” the popular Woods Quad sculpture by Joe McCreary.

The silent auction will also include  tickets to Crimson Tide Coach Nick Sabin’s Nick At Noon lunch series, handmade silver elephant cufflinks, books signed by author Rick Bragg, dinner at the Tin Top restaurant and more.

The event will also auction artwork by department of art and art history faculty, students and alumni, including nationally recognized artists Frank Fleming, NALL, and others. For a complete listing of auction items go to http://www.as.ua.edu/home/alumni_and_friends/arty_party/auction.php.

Individual tickets may be purchased for $150, patron tickets for $200, table sponsorships for $1,250, and benefactor sponsorships for $2,500. Tickets may be purchased by phoning 205/348-7007. Patrons, table sponsors and benefactors receive special gifts and recognition at the event.

Proceeds from the Arty Party will benefit the Windgate Student Fellows Research Program in the department of art and art history. The Windgate Research Fellows program provides funding to selected studio art and art history majors for their research.

The exhibition will showcase the work of the Windgate Fellows in studio art. Arty Party attendees will have the opportunity to cast their vote for the “Arty Party People’s Choice Award” from the exhibition. The students will receive first, second and third place Arty Party prizes.

The Arty Party showcases and raises funds and awareness for the fine and performing arts at UA and is sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Board and its Fine Arts Committee, chaired by John Cranton of Mobile.

Fine Arts Committee members are: Donald Wilbur Stewart, Anniston;  Barbara Stone,  Carol Pitts Hovanec, Jack Drake, Margaret Livingston, Marsha Aldridge King and Rae Wade Trimmier, Birmingham; Jackie Brunson, Enterprise;  Jean Walker Tucker, Lucy Weinstein and Jeffrey Zieman, Mobile;  Elizabeth B. Crump,  Miller Bonner Engelhardt, Montgomery;  Kathleen A. Farmer, Northport;Ned Smith, Pell City;  Betty Ruth Speir, Point Clear; Jerry D. Dillard, Selma; Pam Askew, Ronald Davis, H. Joseph Fritz, Stella Hillard Moore, Paula F. Quarles, Claire Tisdal, Mary Jean Weaver, and Hoyt Winslett Jr., Tuscaloosa; Anne Barr Herman, Suwanee, Ga.; Missy Edwards, Albany, Ga.; Patricia Hatcher Hall, New York, N.Y.; and William T. Price, Amarillo, Texas.

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the UA College of Arts and Sciences Arty Party website www.as.ua.edu/artyparty or phone 205/348-7007.