PNCA Benefit Art Auction Raises More Than $100,000 for Student Scholarships
February 24, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2012
Contact:
Lisa Radon, Communications Specialist
Pacific Northwest College of Art
lmiller@pnca.edu 503-821-8959
Becca Biggs, Director of Communications
Pacific Northwest College of Art
bbiggs@pnca.edu 503-821-8892
PNCA Benefit Art Auction Raises More Than $100,000 for Student Scholarships
Portland, OR—February 23, 2012—Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) exceeded its fundraising goal, raising more than $100,000 in support of student scholarships at the 4th Annual Benefit Art Auction with Bonhams on February 22 at The Nines Hotel.
The Benefit Art Auction is one of the College’s signature annual benefits helping to meet the needs of student scholarships and financial assistance. More than 93% of PNCA’s 500-plus BFA and MFA students receive financial aid.
Under the volunteer leadership of Honorary Chair Jordan D. Schnitzer and Auction Committee Co-Chairs Sheryl Acheson and Tori Bryer, this year’s Auction featured a remarkable collection of works by more than 24 artists including David Hockney, Katherine Bowling, Anne Crumpacker ’11, and Manuel Izquierdo ’51.
Malcolm Barber, internationally renowned auctioneer and CEO of Bonhams, led the auction, which in addition to work by internationally recognized artists Pascale Ticheler and Yuken Teruya, included a print portfolio from the PNCA Printmaking Department. A dinner and a tour of Jordan Schnitzer’s private collection was also auctioned off.
The 2012 Benefit Art Auction Committee was a dynamic team comprised of Sheryl Acheson, Co-Chair, Tori Bryer, Co-Chair, Mary Lee Boklund, Mary Chomenko Hinckley, Wendy Wells Jackson, Selby Key, Elizabeth Leach, Kathleen Lewis, and Jane Wood.
“The excitement and energy of this year’s Benefit Art Auction is a reflection of the community’s support of the College’s mission of graduating student’s into a life of creative practice,” said PNCA Board Chair Ann Edlen. “We are grateful for what this generous support from collectors, donors, artists, and volunteers will mean to so many or our students.”
In a special recognition video in honor of scholarship supporters Dorothy Lemelson and the late Ed Cauduro, Illustration senior and Cauduro Scholar Adriana Vawdrey said, “The scholarship has made it possible for me to be here. It’s made me feel like somebody has the idea that I have a lot of potential and can do great things, and I want to live up to that.”
“The results of helping a young person achieve what they want to do in life are so important. [Art] spreads. It’s not just simmering, it’s boiling over, and it helps society,” said Dorothy Lemelson, who established the Lemelson Scholarship at PNCA. “Anyone who can possibly sponsor students or make an endowment to an institution is doing something that brings satisfaction beyond what they could possibly realize. And so you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck.”
PNCA is also grateful to the following for their support of this event: Laura King Pfaff, Chairman of Bonhams, San Francisco; Fred Kleisner, General Manager of The Nines Hotel; Chris Erickson, General Manager of The Heathman Hotel; Robert Ames, Board of Directors, Bonhams; Ann Edlen, Chairman of the Board of Governors of PNCA; Dan Kvitka, Dan Kvitka Photography; and Todd Putnam, Framing Resource.
About Pacific Northwest College of Art
Since its founding in 1909, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) has become a leader in innovative educational programs that connect students to a global perspective in the visual arts and design. In addition to its 10 Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, PNCA offers graduate education with an MFA in Visual Studies, a Low-Residency MFA in Visual Studies, an MFA in Collaborative Design, an MA in Critical Theory and Creative Research, as well as an MFA in Applied Craft and Design developed in collaboration with the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
PNCA is actively involved in Portland’s cultural life through exhibitions and a vibrant public program of lectures and internationally recognized visiting artists, designers and creative thinkers. With the support of PNCA+FIVE (Ford Institute for Visual Education), the College has a partnership with the nationally acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Craft. For more information, visit pnca.edu