The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum will hold its annual “Art ‘Round the World” fundraising gala, this year themed “Evening in Florence,” Saturday, March 29. It will be held at the ACHE Research Institute Health and Wellness Center in Fort Smith and begins at 6 p.m.
Featuring dinner, entertainment, and auctions, the gala provides support for the museum’s free programming. A fine arts museum in its 77th year, RAM features free entry and viewing of exhibitions by regional, national and international artists in five galleries, and free art classes for all ages.
“Art museums educate in a fun way, and so that’s what we love to do with our gala,” Julie Moncrief, development director, says. “The cuisine, music, décor, art, and items for auction all reflect the culture and art history of the chosen city.”
At “Evening in Florence,” the Italian Renaissance will come alive with the era’s Master painters portrayed by actors of the Fort Smith Little Theatre. Guests will chat with Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Raphael, all who lived and worked in Florence.
A Florentine dinner will be served by the popular Fort Smith restaurant Uncork’d, and a live auction will include trips to Florence. Local artists help RAM by donating small canvases painted in the styles of the Renaissance for the silent auction.
Cocktail hour entertainment will be provided by Don Bailey and “The Florentine Minstrels.” Western Arkansas Ballet will perform a ballet de cour that originated during the Italian Renaissance and was formalized by Catherine de Medici. After dinner, guests will be treated to the smooth jazz vocals of chart-topping singer Jonathan Karrant, who resides in Las Vegas but is a native of Fort Smith.
For more information and tickets or sponsorships, visit www.fsram.org.
