Soul on Fire blazes fundraising trail

TEMPE, Ariz. – Feb. 23 marks the fourth biennial Ceram A Rama: Soul on Fire gala fundraiser for the ASU Art Museum Ceramics Research Center (CRC). The evening’s excitement includes cocktails, sumptuous dinner, dancing, as well as silent and live auctions to benefit the center’s education and exhibition programs. The auctions features 25 live auction items valued at more than $100,000 and 150 silent auction items by renowned artists such as Josh DeWeese, Sarah Jaeger, Farraday Newsome, Susan Peterson and Jeff Reich.

Among the guests will be renowned collector, Sandy Besser, an ardent supporter of the CRC and its programs. The gala coincides with the ASU Art Museum’s exhibition, A Human Impulse: Figuration from the Diane and Sandy Besser Collection. Since 2003, Besser has donated more than 150 works to the museum’s collection. The exhibition highlights 65 of them.

The CRC is a national and international destination for the hands-on study and enjoyment of ceramics. It houses the ASU Art Museum’s extensive ceramic collection of more than 3,000 objects and is a teaching and research facility component of the Herberger College of the Arts at Arizona State University. In addition to the collection, the CRC houses the Susan Harnly Peterson Archive. The CRC and its curator, Peter Held, received the 2007 CLAY Award from the Friends of contemporary Ceramics, the leading organization of ceramic collectors, art dealers and curators in the U.S.

The Ceram A Rama: Soul on Fire gala fundraiser takes place Saturday, Feb. 23 at the ASU Art Museum, southeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street on the ASU Tempe campus. Complimentary valet parking is available. Registration and cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $225 per person. For tickets and information, please call (480) 965-2787.

The ASU Art Museum, named 'the single most impressive venue for contemporary art in Arizona' by Art in America, is part of the Herberger College of the Arts at Arizona State University. The museum is located on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street in Tempe and admission is free. Hours are 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Tuesdays (during the academic year), 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. To learn more about the museum, call 480-965-2787 or visit http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Laura Toussaint 
480.965.8796
laura.toussaint@asu.edu