THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls State University is set to host ArtWorks, the region’s premier art auction and interactive event, on Tuesday, March 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Talbot Hall. All proceeds are used to benefit students in the form of scholarships and grants, sending Nicholls students to regional and national exhibitions, to conferences and to study abroad.
The event will include tours of the fine art studios, art demonstrations such as a forging, raku ceramic firing and other studio workshops inside and outside Talbot Hall. In addition to these interactive learning experiences, attendees can view work by numerous artists and take part in an online silent auction featuring fine art on display in the Dane Ledet Gallery and other installation sites.
Michael Williams, chair of the ArtWorks committee notes, “The students in the Art program greatly benefit from the community’s support for this event. It is a unique fundraiser that allows students to express their appreciation for funding and to show their enthusiasm by participating in activities that help promote public interest in art.”
A printmaking demo from artist and Nicholls alumna, Masy Chighizola, owner of Press Relief Prints in Baton Rouge, will be conducted in the gallery. In the lobby of the Danos Theater, guests can view the display “In the Kitchen,” featuring unique hand-painted cast iron, glassware, utensils, and other items, such as a Louisiana-themed picnic table. Each work was created or decorated by alumni, faculty, students and regional or nationally recognized artists and will be auctioned off during the event.
Among the artists featured in the auction is Carl Danos, a local artist acclaimed for his carved wood decoys. A print by abstract artist Dorothy Fratt (1923-2017), whose work will soon be featured in a retrospective at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona, is also available.
For those with an interest in creating art, Nicholls art students and faculty will be available to discuss different media and assist in developing skills. Hands-on activities, such as using a potter’s wheel, fabricating a flipbook for animation, printing silk screens and wood type revival letters, participating in the photo darkroom experience, and designing “wipe-out” paintings involving the erasure of pigments, will take place throughout the night. A studio workshop on hand-coloring photographs and an outdoor printing demonstration using a steamroller in the parking area will both be back by popular demand.
Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at www.nicholls.edu/artworks. Live music by Buddy Benoit as well as Billy Stark and Bobby Pitre, complimentary hors-d’oeuvres and a cash bar will be available. Guests will be provided with art supplies in the studio demonstrations and can bring home the original art they created during the evening.
Artwork will be available for direct purchase and/or bidding online. Supporters unable to attend the event can still purchase and bid on many of the items for auction by signing up through https://www.nicholls.edu/artworks.
The Nicholls Department of Art aims to provide quality studies in all visual media and the skills needed for employment or continued studies. The Bachelor of Fine Arts program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. To learn more about Nicholls Department of Art, visit https://www.nicholls.edu/art/.
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