The Black Hills Art Gala will be an elegant evening of fine art to support a boy fighting cancer.
Tickets are on sale now for the Black Hills Art Gala, which will be from 5:30 to 9 p.m. March 18 at Matthews Opera House in Spearfish. The work of nine artists from five states will be on display and available to purchase. This formal gala will include light appetizers catered by Killian’s Food & Drink in Spearfish, beer and wine, red carpet photos by Black Hills Photography, and videos of the evening by 605 Media and Entertainment. A silent auction of paintings will benefit Grayson Chapeau of Spearfish, who is undergoing treatment for an inoperable brain tumor.
Tickets for the gala are $50 and must be purchased in advance at AlexandraHansenArt.com. Hansen is a wildlife artist from Aladdin, Wyo., who organized the gala and will have her work at the event.
“I organized this art gala in an effort to bring a few new artists to the area. It’s a beautiful variety of artists from Nebraska, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming,” Hansen said.
Charcoal artist Rachel Brownlee of Sandhills, Neb., will be one of the featured artists. Her work was shown in an exhibit “Now, My Eyes See” that was on display earlier this year at Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City. The gala also will showcase the work of oil painter Linda Donlin of Bismarck, N.D., photographer Jesse Brown Nelson of Spearfish, potter William Lopez of Gillette, Wyo., pyrography artist Rilie Tane of Billings, Mont., acrylic artist Kellsie Moore of Denver, Colo., watercolor artist Gaylene Fortner of Broadus, Mont., and oil artist Ann Kenchel of Denver, Colo. Go to facebook.com/blackhillsartgala/ to learn more about the participating artists and their work.
After learning of Chapeau’s years-long battle against cancer, Hansen said using the gala as a fundraiser for him was “a no-brainer.” Chapeau, 11, has been undergoing cancer treatments since he was 4. His family chronicles his treatments and his journey with cancer in a public Facebook group, Prayers for the Pop Tab Kid. Hansen describes him as an amazing young man.
“I had met Grayson’s mom at the drive-through of Blue Spruce Coffee one day last fall, and she shared his story with me. I then followed his story on Facebook, and his ability to spread joy amidst some truly devastating health challenges utterly inspired me,” she said.
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