Far Out! '80s Bash and Art Auction Raises $500K for the Glassell School

Jenny Antill
Far Out! '80s Bash and Art Auction Raises $500K for the Glassell School

Heidi Gerger, Cynthia Bigelow, Jereann Chaney and Mary Arocha

A RAD PARTY at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston raised half a mil for its Glassell School. The highlight of the MTV-themed bash was an auction of works by Glassell alumni, which were on display among the tie-dye décor in the mod new building.


More than 200 guests dressed up in neon and ’80s-rrific attire to view and bid on the art before a buffet dinner by Swift & Company, featuring inventive Mexican fare like chicken-and-walnut enchiladas and lentil tacos, plus a guacamole bar — all washed down with coffee-and-Kahlua milkshakes for dessert.

A DJ spun tunes befitting of a MTV-themed party and revelers — including gallery bigwigs like Kerry Inman, MFAH patrons Lily and Harrison Cullen, and event chairs Leigh and Reggie Smith — boogied down in the name of charity. The evening’s till topped $500,000.

Bobbie Nau and Gary Tinterow

Lisa Fred, Jenna Lindley and Frances Lummis

Reggie Smith, Brad Bucher and John Guess

Micheline Newall, Sam Gorman, Laurie Minniece and Silvia Salle

Liz and Tom Glanville

Alfred C. Glassell, III and Marli Andrade

Cullen Geiselman, Mary and Tom Lile, and Robert Muse

Apama Strickland and Brad Blume

Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl, Judy Nyquist and Sverre Brandsberg-Dahl

Megan Olivia Ebel

Art + Entertainment

'Wedding' by Mikhaylo Palinchak

A YOUNG BOY — wearing a camouflage jacket, a Ukrainian flag wrapped around his neck like a scarf, and a smile — flashes the victory sign on the central square of Kherson during the celebration of the city’s liberation by the Ukrainian army. The words “No War” crawled in silver on the wall inside of a bombed-out apartment building in Kharkiv. A couple, both members of the Kyiv Territorial Defense and just married under martial law in Kyiv, and sit outdoors, cuddling, the bride holding a bouquet of white roses, the groom, a rifle. These are just a few of the powerful images in Fighting: Ukrainian War Photographers, an exhibit of photos taken by 16 Ukrainian artists and photographers currently serving on the frontlines of the Russian invasion of their country. Fighting opens Oct. 5 at Silver Street Studios at Sawyer Yards.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

Lance McCullers, Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker

AN ANNUAL EVENT to raise funds for some of the top Astros players’ favorite causes knocked it out of the park this year, bringing in a record haul of $600,000.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places