The bidding is over and 48 rain barrels now have new homes following this year’s public art auction of the Whitewater Arts Alliance, raising $3,175.
Many of the Alliance’s supporters were present at the Sept. 26 auction, and several of those who were unable to attend sent proxies on their behalf.
Board President Mark McPhail said he was impressed with and appreciative of the support provided by so many members of the community.
“I’ve had opportunities to work with many of the individuals here in the community who are long-time supporters of the arts, but this was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to see them ‘in action’ at the auction,” McPhail said.
“It was wonderful to see so many people bidding for barrels to support the alliance, and to know that many who were not able to attend had also sent representatives to ‘do their bidding.’ It was also great to see many of the board members, in the audience, on the stage, or behind the scenes making the event run smoothly,” he added.
Linda Long and Jim McCulloch kept the auction moving along and provided interesting commentary and information about each of the barrels. It was an impressive example of the generosity and enthusiasm that have made the Whitewater Arts Alliance such a vital part of this community, according to event organizers.
The top highest bid was for $220 for the barrel “Water Lilies” by Julia Collins. The youngest bidder was nine years old and won the barrel that he and his father created called, “Dalek.”
Linda Long, a long-time volunteer and past president of the Whitewater Arts Alliance, announced the tenth and final public art project for 2014: kites.
“This will be the last year of the public art project for a while,” Long said. “The theme is ‘Up, Up and Away’ and we hope that our tenth year will be the best year ever.”
Home Lumber created the wood kite frames and the Scharine group created the metal kite frames. Zingg will provide the clear coating, and GMA Printing will again be the point of contact for the project.
“This is truly a community effort. Creating the forms, distributing the forms, securing sponsors, decorating the art, clear-coating the art, placing the art on the light poles, removing them from the light poles, cleaning them up and running the auction – all of this requires tremendous support from our community,” Long said.
The board of directors and members of the Whitewater Arts Alliance said the following people deserve thanks for their support of the barrel project and auction: Scharine Group for the barrels, Rick Fassl for adding the hardware to the barrels, GMA Printing for being the point of contact, City of Whitewater crews for hanging and taking down the barrels, Schopen’s Automotive Service for clear-coating the barrels, the Public Art Committee for managing the details, all of the artists and sponsors for their creations and all who bid on barrels at the auction.
