A new addition to Behringer-Crawford Museum’s annual freshART event is both a tribute to the past and an inspiration for the future.
Connie O’Donnell
The Inaugural Connie O’Donnell Student ART Invitational, named for the late wife of trustee emeritus and former BCM board chairman Tom O’Donnell, will offer talented local high school students the opportunity to showcase their work at freshART.
The student art will be displayed at the museum as part of the silentART exhibit, which opens with a free public reception from 5 to 7 p.m., on Saturday, August 31.
Unlike the silentART pieces, which will be sold at a silent auction, the student art will not be available for sale. However, the works will be judged by a panel of art experts, with one winner receiving a $50 prize and $500 going to the art department at the winner’s school.
The exhibit continues through the freshART gala and auction on September 14.
According to Tom O’Donnell, Connie O’Donnell was a self-taught artist who specialized in sketches, drawings and cartoons, many of which depicted milestones in the lives of her family and friends.
She loved to mentor young artists, including their three sons, Tod, Sean and Patrick. “She was very conscious of bringing new artists along and often paid class visits for specials days at school,” Tom O’Donnell said.
When his wife died at age 71 in January, many of their friends wanted to create a fund in her name.
”We didn’t see anything around that supported art at the high school level, so we decided to start there,” O’Donnell said.
Art teachers at seven local schools were approached and asked to submit drawings by sophomore, junior or senior students.
“What we hope is, as we build, the fund can be broadened to include all of the high schools in the area,” he said.
“This event is a testament to Connie’s legacy and a way of supporting the art she loved for future generations.”
To donate to the Student ART Invitational, send your check payable to the Connie O’Donnell Fund, c/o Behringer-Crawford Museum, 1600 Montague Rd., Covington, KY 41011. For more information, call (859) 491-4003 or email info@bcmuseum.org.
The 27th annual freshART gala and auction will take place in the BCM amphitheater at 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, with a live auction of “fresh” art created by dozens of artists working that weekend in Devou Park.
Tickets to freshART are $80. To reserve or for more information, call 859-491-4003 or email info@bcmuseum.org.
Since freshART began in 1992, more than a half-million dollars has been raised, bringing educational and cultural activities to 275,000 Northern Kentucky children.
Behringer-Crawford Museum is supported in part by its members, the City of Covington, Kenton County Fiscal Court, ArtsWave, Kentucky Arts Council, the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame and The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. US Bank Foundation.
Behringer-Crawford Museum
