The department of art and design’s Holiday Art Auction is an opportunity to purchase original artworks for holiday gift giving while supporting Murray State students.
The Holiday Art Auction is an annual event held by the art and design department and University Galleries. The event includes a silent auction and a live auction, showcasing original artworks from University faculty, staff, students and alumni and local artists. All proceeds go towards student scholarships within the department.
Ann Gosser, administrative assistant of the art and design department, said art and design students who donate to or volunteer at the event are eligible for the auction’s scholarship fund.
Irian Christie, a senior studio art major with a focus in painting, donated and volunteered last year. She said participating in the auction is a great way to get experience and support students through the proceeds.
“The auction itself is fun and lively, the community is tight-knit and supportive, and it’s a great chance to do a little unique holiday gift shopping while supporting the students,” Christie said.
Olivia Guess, a senior graphic design major, said she donated an artists’ book she made in a bookbinding class last year.
Most student’s works are typically sold in the silent auction, but Guess and Christie had their work put in the live auction last year.
“To be honest, I didn’t know my piece was chosen for the live auction until the day of the auction,” Guess said. “I got an email from the department chair asking … why the art auction was important to me, but I thought they had just chosen a few students who had donated in general, not necessarily the two of us chosen for the live auction.”
Because her piece was in the live auction, Christie was asked to share some information about it during the auction.
“The piece is a monoprint featuring the silhouette of an Indonesian shadow puppet, a form with deep cultural and personal meaning for me,” Christie said.
Alongside student work, Gosser said the auction spotlights an art and design faculty member as the featured artist.
“We make sure everyone has a chance to be featured, and as we add new faculty to our department, their name gets added to the list,” Gosser said.
This year’s featured artist is Gregory Scott Cook, an assistant professor of graphic design. Cook’s donation “No, Where?” is a print about “displacement in both emotional and physical space, where language is simply but enduringly altered,” according to a press release on the University’s website.
Gosser said that donations for the auction come in from outside of the University community as well.
“We have donations from local artists, students, alumni, faculty, and staff. We also include work by visiting artists,” Gosser said. “We have already received a few donations and one came from an alumni living in Florida. It’s always exciting to see what comes in.”
All students and members of the community are welcome to donate artwork for the auction. Donations are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 3-5 on the sixth floor of Doyle Price Fine Arts. The auction will take place on Friday, Nov. 14, in the Clara M. Eagle Gallery. Registration and the silent auction begins at 6 p.m., with the live auction starting at 7 p.m. To RSVP or for more information, contact the department of art and design at [email protected].
