Springer School and Center celebrated the impact the arts can have on a child with a learning disability at A Springer Celebration! 2016, An Artful Evening. The event was held at The Center, the former location of Cincinnati’s Contemporary Arts Center – a perfect setting for the evening.
The Event Co-Chairs were Gina Goings and Martha Millett, both alumni parents and Springer Trustees. Current Springer parent Robin Carew served as Auction Chair. The event raised $148,000 to be used for financial aid, and for school and center programs.
Three guest speakers, all of them Springer alumni who are currently active in the arts, addressed the audience. Caroline Feldhaus Harten is a 2000 graduate of Springer who discovered her passion for art after pursuing a career in business. Caroline is a mixed media artist, and was Springer’s Maureen Wenker Artist in Residence this year. She will graduate from Wilmington College this summer, with a BA in Business Administration.
Emily Moorhead ’97 uses fragile materials to create art that communicates environmental concerns in her Chicago studio, and is also an art handler/preparatory for two universities in Chicago. Emily holds a BFA in Studio Sculpture from Miami University and a MFA in Fine Arts from Washington University in St. Louis. She was Springer’s Artist in Residence in 2014.
Ben Sweeney ‘05 plays acoustic and electric guitar for the band Natural Progression in Cincinnati. He graduated from the School for the Creative Arts where he studied jazz and was a Corbett Award finalist. Ben studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, and currently works for Canopy Crew, a company that builds tree houses and provides tree service and care. He plans to return to college for certification in Music Education.
Local 12 WKRC TV’s Brad Johansen served as emcee for the evening, which featured a live guitar/bass duo, a caricature artist and a gallery of art by Springer students. Guests bid on more than 100 live and silent auction items, and took their chances at three raffle prizes and a 100-bottle wine pull.