‘Art Exhibit to Save the World’ raises funds for Boys and Girls Club
Buy art, save the world.
While these two things may not seem to have anything in common, they are the slogan for one group who holds art exhibits, sells its work and donates the proceeds to charity. The group’s most recent exhibit was held Monday night in the Sunburst Lounge.
“I wanted to start something to make up for the bad things I’ve done, to better society,” said Miles Hicks, one of the founders of Art Exhibit to Save the World.
Hicks said he worked at the Boys and Girls Club, saw its need for more funding and decided to hold a fundraiser, donating the proceeds to the club.
As an artist, Hicks decided an art exhibit was the way to go. The first exhibit was held a few months ago at the Blue Bird Café in Logan. Hicks, a junior in graphic design from Layton, recruited some of his friends who did painting and photography and were willing to sell their work at the exhibit. They were able to raise about $200 for the Boys and Girls Club.
The exhibit this time took a different approach as Tron Arnold, sophomore English major, put it together as a service project for his English class. Arnold said he does photography and had been happy to join Hicks and fellow founder Chuck Sheya at the last exhibit.
“I thought it was a great idea,” Arnold said. “I’d always wanted to do service like this, but I never knew how.”
More artists were featured at the second exhibit with paintings and photographs featuring subjects from portraits to landscapes to the devil. Student Dani Babbel said the paintings of the devil were her favorite because they were quirky and fun.
The artists set a minimum bidding price on their pieces to cover the cost of materials with the rest being donated. Hicks said he wants to keep the donations going to local charities, and this time the money will go to Camp Hobe, a week-long summer camp for children with cancer and their siblings.
Many of the volunteers who work at the camp are also USU students. Paul Larsen, senior in Spanish, spends his summers as the kids’ program director for Camp Hobe. Students are able to come and spend a week away from treatments and can be kids again, Larsen said. Their siblings also have a chance to learn more about cancer and interact with others who are in similar situations.
“Kids come out and we party all week,” Larsen said.
As the program is nonprofit, its funding comes through grants and donations, Larsen said. They are always accepting applications for volunteers and any donations.
Hicks first heard about the camp through a fellow student and thought it sounded like a great organization for their group to donate to.
“We hope to generate enough momentum that other organizations in need can call or come to us, we don’t have to search for them,” Hicks said.
The 11 artists featured at the exhibit were Hicks, Arnold, Sheya, Lisa Holbrook, Candice Green, Susie Motola, Anne Wallen, Mellissa Bowman, Jackson Olsen, Derrick Wall and Nick Hansen. Members of the group said they plan to hold the exhibits bi- or tri-monthly and bring in some ceramics at the next show.
-alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu