South Bend Museum of Art presents annual gala

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Leaders at the South Bend Museum of Art invites the community to join them for an evening of elegant fun as they host their annual gala event honoring guest artist Gundega Penikis and Friend of the Arts, Jeff Gibney.

ArtSlam begins with cocktails and a silent auction at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 30.

All proceeds of the event will benefit community programming at the museum.

Ceramic Artist Gundega Penikis has nurtured area clay students for 40 years, teaching in the SBMA studios, Saint Mary’s College and Indiana University South Bend. Gundega arrived in South Bend in 1970, and within the year enrolled in a ceramics class at the then Art Center. “I discovered that working with clay was interesting, challenging and discouraging, but never boring.” She continues to create art and inspire her students in the SBMA studios.

Friend of the Arts Jeff Gibney (1949 – 2014) served as Executive Director of South Bend Heritage Foundation and South Bend’s Director of Community and Economic Development. His commitment to improving the quality of life in South Bend through neighborhood development focused on not just affordable housing, but incorporated the fundamental value of the arts in creating a satisfied and healthy community.

The evening’s program includes the tallying of votes for ArtSlam! This is a friendly competition among Five Fans of the SBMA: Rob DeCleene, Anne Feferman, Paul Kuharic, Chris Stackowicz, and Brooke Marks-Swanson. Each “Fan” has selected their favorite artwork from the Permanent Collection of the Museum and is creating a work of art in response to it, to be auctioned off at the event.

Click here or on each ArtSlammer’s photo to Vote for your favorite!

Votes are $40 each with all proceeds benefitting community programming at the South Bend Museum of Art.

Rob DeCleene is a native of South Bend and a graduate of Adams High School. From there, he went to IU Bloomington and graduated in 1994 with a B.S. in Tourism Management. He has enjoyed a career in the tourism industry ever since and returned to his hometown in May 2010 to accept his current position as executive director of Visit South Bend Mishawaka. The vibrant arts and cultural scene of our communities and campuses are a constant focus for Rob and his staff as he works to position our destination as positively and impressively as possible. He also loves his two Boston Terriers very much.

Anne Feferman is a SBMA board member and serves on the executive committee. A South Bend native, she is the VP of Residential Mortgage Operations at Teachers Credit Union and serves in various community capacities such as the South Bend Education Foundation, Temple Beth-El and more. Her passions and interests include jewelry making, gardening, reading and being outdoors. “Growing up, my father was an avid collector of art and an SBMA board member. Both my parents felt very strongly about artistic expression and enrolled my brother and me in classes at the SBMA. That ignited a wonderful outlet for a lifetime of creative expression.”

Ceramicist Paul Kuharic has taught art for 15 years, the last 10 at St. Joseph High School in South Bend. “I have always derived pleasure from creating things,” he states. Self taught in ceramics, he first started in the basics, striving to achieve competency in form and function on the potter’s wheel. “As a teacher I am forced to teach functional pottery, but on my own time I choose to make more sculptural pieces. I don’t produce art about one subject or another. In my work, visual references derive from both nature and products of human consumerism. I make art solely for the enjoyment of executing ideas in a three dimensional way.”

Brooke Marks-Swanson received her MFA in Metals from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois and a BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design from Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Her wall pieces and jewelry have been featured in national and international exhibitions, and reside in numerous public and private collections. She has given workshops on process and exhibiting at craft shows, and taught Jewelry Design and Metalsmithing at Indiana University-South Bend. A member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths, Brooke resides and maintains a full time studio in South Bend, Indiana, USA.

Chris Stackowicz was raised in Granger, Indiana and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BFA in Printmaking and a minor in Art History. He completed his MFA in Installation and Graduate Certificate in Cultural Studies at Stony Brook University in New York and taught art at Cardinal Hayes High School in the South Bronx. Chris moved back to Granger in 2004 and was Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Bethel College before stepping down to form cstackstudios, a company focused on large scale community based public beautification projects. Examples of his work can be seen all over town: the Marian Devotional Ceiling Painting at Queen of Peace in Mishawaka Indiana, the exterior wall mural at Bar Louie in Mishawaka, Indiana, the 933 Bridge Project, the Downtown South Bend Crosswalk project, South Bend Brew Werks Floor Mural, and the Spring Forward project on vacant and abandoned home facades. Chris has also worked as an international photographer for the Greek Architecture Project at Corinth Greece, and for the Peirene Visual Reconstruction Project through the American school of classical studies. His work has been shown locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Chris has served on numerous boards including Reading For Life and is also a candidate for County Council District C.