SCAD scholarship gala gives donors new incentive
This weekend the best of the Savannah community came out to support the annual SCAD Scholarship Gala. With all proceeds from the artwork sold going to the SCAD Scholarship fund, the highly successful event proved everyone a winner.
The gala, hosted by the Office for Institutional Advancement in Poetter Hall, offered those wishing to give back to the school an alternative option for simply donating funds. Attendees had the opportunity to bid on original artwork created by current SCAD students, faculty, alumni, and friends of SCAD.
For an added ticket price, attendees could purchase work at a buy-it-now price one hour prior to the silent auction. By 8 p.m. nearly one fourth of the showcased work had already been purchased.
With an array of majors represented, work for sale included the likes of foundations professor Nancy Doolan and alumni April Johnston, who finished fifth on the eighth season of Project Runway. The event was curated by Fay Gold, who is well-known in the Atlanta art community.
All proceeds from the evening’s ticket and artwork sales added more than $150,000 to the SCAD scholarship fund. Though the evening was a fun opportunity for the social Savannah community, its profit is something that many students rely on for the ability to attend the school.
In return for donating funds, the auction gives donors the chance to own an original piece of the student collective.
“It’s cool that instead of asking for donations they give donors the ability to have a piece of the school,” said scholarship recipient Matthew Zimmerman, a second-year Advertising major from San Antonio, Texas.
For current students and recent graduates, the event also gave exposure to their craft. 2012 Painting graduate Robert Welsh, whose painting “Am I Beautiful II” was the highest sale of the evening, was proud to be part of the philanthropy involved.
“I love that it gives back to the community I was a part of. I try to use every opportunity to give back in the art world,” said Welsh, who recently completed a residency at the Artspace Gallery in Raleigh, N.C.
Nearly 80% of the SCAD population is maintaining scholarships through the university, as tracked by Institutional Effectiveness. Opportunities like the gala help show the school as both philanthropically focused as well as excited to share student creations with the surrounding communities.
For more information on the SCAD Office for Institutional Advancement and how to give to SCAD, visit their website.
Editor’s note: Corrections were made to reflect the time of the event, the selection process of artwork and the amount of money raised for the SCAD scholarship fund.
