PNCA Breaks Spring Gala Fundraising Record
June 06, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2011
Contact:
Becca Biggs, Director of Communications
bbiggs@pnca.edu 503-821-8892
PNCA Breaks Spring Gala Fundraising Record
Pacific Northwest College of Art 2011 Gala | Mixed Media on Pavement
PORTLAND, OR – June 6, 2011 – On Saturday, June 4, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) held its 9th annual gala, Mixed Media on Pavement, and successfully raised more than $440,000 in sponsorships and special appeal gifts. Contributions support PNCA students, faculty and programs. In addition, the event helps support programs and exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Craft, which has operated in partnership with PNCA since 2009. Together with PNCA’s 3rd Annual Benefit Art Auction in February, which raised $130,000 for scholarships, and with a special challenge grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, PNCA raised $610,000, surpassing previous special event fundraising records.
“We are especially grateful for the outpouring of support in honor of Al Solheim, outgoing chair of the PNCA Board of Governors,” said Tom Manley, president of PNCA and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Craft. “This success is a testimony to his extraordinary leadership and his amazing contributions not just to the College and the Museum, but to the nurturing of culture and the arts in this community.”
Al Solheim joined the PNCA Board of Governors in 1998 and has served as Board Chair since 2004. Under his leadership, the College quadrupled its endowment, more than doubled enrollment, successfully launched and completed a $32 million campaign to purchase its main campus building on NW Johnson Street in the Pearl, helped to preserve the Museum of Contemporary Craft and its unique collection, and began the process of future campus expansion.
This year’s gala saw the involvement of many distinguished community leaders. Georgia Leupold-Marshall served as Visionary Chair for the Gala and Selby and Douglas Key served as Honorary Chairs. The Leadership Committee was comprised of John and Suzanne Bishop, Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland, and Casey Mills and Carmen Calzacorta.
Visionary sponsors for Mixed Media on Pavement included: Georgia Leupold-Marshall; Al Solheim, AWS Real Estate; Dorothy Lemelson; and the Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund. President’s Circle Sponsors were Peraim and Kartar Khalsa; Leupold; and US Bank; Studio Circle sponsors were Allied Works Architecture, Ann and Mark Edlen, Selby and Douglas Key, Kathleen Lewis, Casey Mills and Carmen Calzacorta, LAIKA, Miller Nash, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Care Foundation, Schwabe; Williamson, & Wyatt, Wieden+Kennedy and XPLANE. The visual business solutions company, XPLANE, served as Creative Director. Soler Production, a longtime collaborator with the College, provided technical support for the event.
Mixed Media on Pavement marks the return of the Gala to PNCA’s main campus building at 1241 NW Johnson. The College was able to purchase the building as part of its successful Centennial Campaign for PNCA+FIVE, allowing PNCA to build equity for the first time in its 102-year old history.
Nearly 400 guests kicked off the evening with a cocktail reception and viewing of PNCA’s BFA Senior Thesis Exhibition in the Swigert Commons. PNCA supporters enjoyed an elegant, seasonal dinner by Larry Grimes of Art of Catering in a tent on the street, as well as live art, a dynamic paddle raise led by Johnna Wells of Benefit Auctions 360, and entertainment
featuring BodyVox. In collaboration with XPLANE, PNCA hosted an After Party in the adjacent RiverTec building in the Pearl District. Music was provided by 1980s Video Dance Attack with VJ Kittyrox.
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 nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, PNCA offers graduate education with an MFA in Visual Studies and an MFA in Collaborative Design, 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 www.pnca.edu.