Live camels and belly dancers at check-in, live painting by artist Richard Nunez throughout the evening, ballroom dance performances, spectacular live and silent auction items, one-of-a-kind student art pieces created with the guidance of professional artists, professional art pieces, delicious food stations from Asia, U.S., Italy and France, chic nightclub ballroom décor and live band performance by The Roof Raisers all made the Westlake Academy Foundation's 9th annual Gallery Night, themed “The World Comes to Westlake,” a night to remember!
On Saturday, March 3, 2012 approximately 350 people filled the Dallas/Fort Worth Marriott-Solana silent auction halls to bid on packages ranging from clothing, jewelry, private chef dinners, professional art pieces, sports packages, a Daytona race package, teacher/student events, autographed movie posters, Spring Break staycation packages, accommodations to both national and international trip destinations, limo-escorted nights out and more. Student art work from grades K-6 also lined the halls along with professional art pieces from Gregory Arth, Trish Biddle, Lance Cross, Jane Metz, Linda Bein, Gail James, Roy Odom and Janie Cavender.
In collaboration with Westlake Public Art Society, professional artists Trish Biddle, Richard Nunez, Nell Potasnik-Langford, Gregory Arth, Holly Paulson, Nancy Herkert, Linda Bein, Roy Odom and Janie Cavender worked with Westlake Academy students to create international-themed art pieces. The student art reflected France, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, French Guiana, Korea, Canada, United States, Australia and the Netherlands.
“Last year the event raised over $200,000 and preliminary numbers show we topped that this year with over $230,000 raised,” says Westlake Academy Executive Director Dr. Shelly Myers. Included in this amount is $65,000 that was raised in a special “Fund-an-Item” auction for a Library Media Resource Center. Gallery Night proceeds enable the Foundation to fund grant requests from Westlake Academy for classroom equipment, campus and gym needs, specialized curriculum, technology upgrades and more.
This year the Westlake Public Art Society partnered with the school to provide art materials and artists who volunteered to work with students at the school to produce art pieces for the auction. “The response to this collaboration was overwhelmingly positive. Not only were the student art creations sought-after auction items, but the students benefited from the experience of working with professional artists,” says Kelly Cox, Westlake Academy Foundation President. “We hope to continue and expand this collaboration next year,” says Cox.
Westlake Academy is a public charter school offering the rigorous International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. Founded in 2003, with a mission to achieve academic excellence and to develop life-long learners who become well-balanced, responsible global citizens, Westlake is the first and only municipality in the state to receive a charter designation. Westlake Academy is the fifth school of only ten in the United States, and the only public school, to offer the full IB curriculum for grades K-12. The school graduated its first class in May 2010. For the 2009-10 school year, the Academy received another ‘Exemplary' rating from TEA for the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) tests, the fourth time it has achieved this. Westlake Academy is located at 2600 JT Ottinger Rd., Westlake, TX 76262. Call 817-490-5757, visit Westlake Academy or email smyers@westlakeacademy.org for more information.