The Student Art Association will hold its SAA Annual Art Auction this week in the Student Satellite Gallery.
The auction allows the Huntsville community to support the SAA and to purchase student-produced works of art. The event helps provide funds for the SAA and increase the department’s presence.
“We give students an opportunity to sell their work, which gives the SHSU Art Department a presence in the community as well as showing students what it is like to have their work sold,” Ashton Leath, vice president of the SAA said.
Leath said the auction’s location in the satellite gallery downtown has increased its attendance in years past.
“This is exciting for us considering that the gallery has been open for over a year and has gained a regular crowd of visitors,” Leath said. “We had at least 100 people attend the auction last year, and we expect even more than that this weekend.”
This is the fourth year the SAA has been in charge of the event. The Huntsville community has been receptive to the department and fundraising efforts, according to Leath.
“There are a few individuals in the Huntsville community that support the art department regularly,” Leath said. “Often times the artists are present at the event and are able to interact with the buyers afterward. We enjoy keeping in contact with these individuals and [maintaining] a relationship with them.”
Members throughout the art department donate their work for the event, including students, faculty and alumni. The art is then sold either in the live auction, held this Saturday, or bid on throughout the week before. The art included in the auction spans across various media.
“Any kind of art is welcome, though some art is more sellable than others,” Leath said. “The auction typically sells more tangible works such as painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture and ceramics.”
The live auction is composed mostly from the faculty and alumni donations which are automatically included in the event. Some student pieces included will be sold during the live auction as well.
“We determine this based on the quality and professionalism of the work,” Leath said. “If we think people will be excited to bid on a piece in the live auction, then we will place it there with the hopes that it would increase the price the piece ends up being sold at.”
The silent auction begins Thursday and continues through Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The gallery is open from 12 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday for viewing. The live auction begins May 2 with an opening reception at 5 p.m. and the auction starting at 7 p.m.
For more information, email the SAA at SAA_SHSU@yahoo.com