Art auction proceeds donated to Joplin tornado relief
A silent auction, “Art and Design for Joplin” was held in December to benefit Joplin tornado relief, which featured 24 works of art donated by nine faculty from the Missouri State University department of art and design. Hosted by Paw Prints Bookstore and co-sponsored by the English Society, the event raised $1,129, which was donated to the Southern Missouri Region of the American Red Cross.
Visiting Joplin as a photographer, Jacek Fraczak, assistant professor of art and design was stunned by the extent of the destruction, which inspired him to organize the art auction.
“I offer humble thanks to my colleagues for their generosity in donating art,” said Franczak. “In my native Poland we have experienced devastations of war, but never have I seen such a force of nature. The tornado taught me not just the power of nature, but the power of the American spirit in helping and rebuilding.”
Art and design faculty who donated artwork included Iwona Duszek, Roman Duszek, Judith Fowler, Jacek Fraczak, Kevin Hughes, Marcus Howell, Maria Michalczyk, Cedomir Kostovic and Eric Pervukhin. Students from the English Society also joined in, promoting the auction as part of their end-of-the-semester festivities.
“I was proud of the way that our students pitched in,” said Dr. James S. Baumlin, professor of English and the English Society faculty sponsor. “It was truly a college-wide collaboration: students and faculty in music, art and design, theatre and dance, as well as in English, gave of their time and talent.”
“This donation really speaks to us about the compassion of our community, and in such a unique and creative way.” said Chris Harmon, chief emergency services officer of the American Red Cross’ Southern Missouri Region, who was presented with the check.
“Professor Fraczak was one of the first professional photographers allowed into Joplin to record the devastation, and his photographs have been on public display in Jefferson City,” said Baumlin. “Fraczak has since revisited Joplin and is preparing a photographic history of the rebuilding. The English department will continue to collaborate with him in relief efforts, and I hope we have the chance to publish his Joplin photography in book form.”
For more information, contact Baumlin at (417) 836-5107.
#
About Missouri State UniversityMissouri State University is a public, comprehensive university system with a mission in public affairs, whose purpose is to develop educated persons while guided by three overarching and enduring commitments to student learning, inclusive excellence and institutional impact. The university’s identity is distinguished by its statewide mission in public affairs, which entails a campus-wide commitment to foster competence and responsibility in ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement. College of Arts and Letters The College of Arts and Letters supports more than 45 undergraduate and 10 graduate programs. The college incorporates seven academic departments, including art and design; communication; English; media, journalism and film; modern and classical languages; music; and theatre and dance, and five interdisciplinary programs: antiquities; electronic arts; global studies; linguistics; and musical theatre. The College of Arts and Letters promotes learning, scholarship and service to the broader community in all aspects of human communication — spoken, written, visual, musical, dramatic and electronic. New media resources
For more information about MSU, visit www.missouristate.edu. You can also be our fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ and see what’s happening on YouTube. Receive notification of Missouri State news releases as soon as they are posted by subscribing to our RSS feed.
Filed Under: art and design · Baumlin · COAL · community · Duszek · english · fowler · Fraczak · Howell · hughes · kostovic · Michalczyk · music · Pervukhin · public affairs · students · theatre and dance
