The sound of popping champagne corks and laughter filled the Ulrich Museum of Art last week as local Wichita artists gathered to help fundraise for the museum.
With the reinstallation of the LOVE sculpture, the Ulrich chose to take the iconic statue and turn it into the theme and centerpiece of their most recent event: the LOVE Wins Auction. The museum brought in local artists to create and submit their own pieces for a silent auction.
“This event is a fundraiser for us, but it’s also a really good opportunity to get artists kind of involved with the community,” Taylor Waller, education and outreach coordinator, said. “In the museum, we are a great space for facilitating connection with our community and people who would like to connect.”
Waller said 60% of profits from the art pieces went straight to the artists unless otherwise stated.
“It’s kind of a cliche that the arts can be overlooked,” Waller said. “We are funded through the state, through the university, but we also do grants and stuff like that. So this is kind of another way to keep acquisitions happening, to keep good exhibits and funding the people who work here.”
There were over 40 pieces for attendees to bid on and 32 different artists, all with different mediums and inspirations.
Artists like Connor Lang, who, after an injury when he was a teen, now finds his inspiration in his wife and daughter, had to rekindle that love for art.
“When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be an artist,” Lang said. “And then I kind of got out of that. Then I got into skateboarding in high school, and I broke my foot when I was 16, and I couldn’t do anything else, so I started drawing again.”
Lang now creates lightboxes and sculptures and submitted a few pieces to the auction. He said events like this allow people to participate in the art community in different ways, whether they be artists or bidders.
Wichita State alum Kevin Kelly is an art faculty member at Butler Community College. He created paintings for the auction, saying his inspiration often comes from contemporary art and the people of this day and age.
“I am just genuinely inspired to see that even in today’s age, people want to keep engaging with real materials and making real expressions,” Kelly said.
Watching people authentically engage instead of relying on social media is also a highlight for Kelly.
“Just walking around here tonight, it’s fun to always see how art events like this bring people out,” Kelly said. “Even on a really cold winter night and these people could all be at home watching Netflix right now, but they are here, talking (and) sharing some drinks.”
