If you haven’t bought your tickets yet to Studio Party 15 – one of Charlotte’s biggest art fundraisers – you should! The event takes place at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation on Saturday, April 18 from 7-10 p.m. We will be there partying it up, sipping complimentary cocktails, sampling tapas, and hopefully buying some art!

The fundraiser supports the work of the McColl Center for Art + Innovation. As you know, the McColl Center brings some of the best artists from around the country to Charlotte for three-month residencies. Their open studio Saturdays provides you with the opportunity to meet these artists, experience the creative process firsthand, and over the course of a few months, see the artists’ projects come to fruition. The McColl Center also offers longer term residencies for local and regional artists (up to 13 months) – an opportunity for the coveted luxuries of time, space, and exposure. Plus the space is amazing – beautiful studios and then necessary tools and resources to create work, such as a printmaking lab and woodshop.

Studio Party 15 is one of the most unique fundraisers around Charlotte. Featured artists create engaging installations in the studios, often around the party’s theme. This year, its Upcycled.Forgoing the traditional auction type of event, the McColl Center opts to instead sell art. Assuring high quality work, pieces have been curated by Brad Thomas, recent Director of Residencies and Exhibitions, and Renee McColl. Best of all, the works range in price and proceeds will benefit both the artist and the McColl Center. We love this idea, as artists are constantly asked to donate art for all kinds of fundraisers.

We appreciate that the McColl Center has decided to share the profits, acknowledging the burden these requests place on artists. All organizations need to adopt this policy (Editor’s note: FYI, currently, U.S.-based artists cannot claim anything other than materials when they donate art, unlike individual patrons who can donate a work of art to a fundraiser or institution and claim the full appraisal value.)

As if the above reasons aren’t enough for you to purchase your ticket right now, here’s a preview of some of the artists and artworks that will be for sale at the event.

Take home this sweet beauty from one of Charlotte’s best curators and artists – if we don’t beat you to it first!

Ashley Lathe, Charlotte, NC
Works for sale from Ashley include pieces from his Crowd series from 2015. The 12″ x 12″ watercolors are framed 20″ x 20″, making it easy to find room for one on your already crowded art-filled walls.

Felicia Van Bork, Davidson, NC
We loved Felicia’s recent exhibition at Jerald Melburg Gallery, How To Fix Absolutely Anything, so we were delighted to learn that some of the works from the series will be for sale at Studio Party 15. Snatch one up while you can!

Charles Williams, Matthews, NC
Charles begins his stint as a Summer Artist-in-Residence at the McColl Center for Art + Innovation on April 6. We can’t wait to hang out in the studio with him and learn more about his beautiful oil on canvas paintings of frothy ocean waves. These works are not just about beauty though; they explore what Charles describes as psychological and cultural barriers to swimming that he experienced as a young African American. Anyway, we should probably welcome him with some purchases at Studio Party 15, right?