Much fun to be had at AMA art auction

FINDLAY — Emily Sullivan already knows what's going to happen when Awakening Minds Art hosts its 15th annual art auction. "My cheeks are really going to hurt from smiling," she said. "And I'm in awe of the support from the community and the support of our students and also just the cuteness overload of everybody just walking around and having so much fun." Sullivan is the executive director and an instructor for AMA which is dedicated to providing therapeutic and educational visual art programs to all ages and abilities. The fundraiser will be held Oct. 11 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1050 Interstate Drive. A cocktail hour at 6 p.m. will feature acoustic music by local musician Chris Salyer. Dinner and the auction follow at 7 p.m. Between 15 and 20 pieces of artwork created by AMA students from across Northwest Ohio will be sold. "The whole event is about them really," said Sullivan. "We like to use it as an educational event for the public, what we do and the scope of what we do. But celebrating them is really what it's all about." AMA was started 16 years ago with the first auction happening a year later. The organization hosts two fundraisers a year with the auction being its most mission focused. "And this year we are really focused on the future and the fact that we have this endowment now," Sullivan said. "Some of the money that comes in from this fundraiser is going to go directly towards the future of our organization." "We want to make sure that, whether this fundraiser is around forever or not, our programs will be," she added. The auction gives the organization an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate everything it does in the community and the collaborations it takes part in, Sullivan said. "So it's not only a way to celebrate the students but also the partners we have in the community and how important that is to our programming. We just wouldn't be anywhere without being able to help support the clients of other organizations, the residents, the facilities, and that's really important to us," she said. The programs available through AMA are also highlighted. In the beginning, it was typically one-on-one students or those at senior living facilities. "And now that we are doing so many other types of groups as well, we try to get collaborative pieces from everyone," said Sullivan. They now try to highlight at least one dayhab, one school system and a community class they work with, she said. Sullivan said this year one of the paintings was created by students who attended a summer camp at the studio. Another was done by a local business that does painting classes. Another important part of the fundraiser, she said, is that the students who have painted pieces in the show get the chance to attend and be a part of the auction. "So it's really fun, first of all to let them make the piece because it's done a little bit bigger of a scale than they usually do, and oftentimes it's a collaboration which is not what our typical class is," Sullivan explained. The students who go to the auction actually walk around and hold up their art for all to see. "It's a really fun experience because then you get the energy of the crowd and the cheering, and it's a huge confidence booster, just like the pride of I did this," she said. Staff often help with the planning of the paintings. Sullivan said they do some landscapes and paintings everyone will like. But then there are always some unique pieces as well. "I can tell you that we just finished a piece that is a rainbow shark surfing on a wave, and that's going to be a real fun one," she said. Students who collaborate on a painting will work on one for themselves. Meanwhile, they're also passing around the larger piece throughout the session. "Working together on the piece, too, it highlights the fact this is programming that everyone can do together," Sullivan said. "So families that maybe can't go out and play sports together because of different challenges or they can't do many things together because of individual challenges, they can come in and paint together and everyone can come out with an accomplished piece." A family or an agency is honored each year at the auction. They are determined to be a role model in the community and have also shown next level support of AMA. Sullivan said last year the Heritage was recognized as one of the first agencies that began working with the organization in 2009. "They were invited and they brought some residents and it was just a really great way to honor them," said Sullivan. Ticket and sponsorship information is available at awakeningmindsart.org/art-auction.