Reserve tickets, make a donation and browse silent auction items by visiting the official VISIONARY BALL 2020 WEBSITE.

Visionary Ball 2020
A virtual fundraiser celebration for Intuit

Visionary Award Recipient: Lonnie Holley – artist, art educator and musician
Honorary Chairs: Stacy Wells and Michelle Woods

2020 has been a year of transformation for Intuit. The urgency of our mission—to celebrate the power of outsider art—has heightened. Intuit reaffirmed our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. We pivoted from creating intimate, on-site experiences to opening our virtual doors to the country and world with new, online programs. Now, for the first time, Intuit will host a virtual Visionary Ball gala!

Please join co-chairs Stacy Wells and Michelle Woods from the comfort of your home on Thursday, October 1, to tune into the live video stream. Intuit friends from all over the country and world will celebrate Intuit’s 29th and most resilient year.

Intuit will honor Lonnie Holley as the second artist to receive the Visionary Award, given to those doing outstanding work in the field of outsider art. We will reflect on the exhibitions, programs and events that championed outsider art and the voices of these artists, as well.

Founded in 1991, Intuit is a premier museum of outsider art. Each year, the museum’s exhibitions, outreach, events, publications, website, and social media reach more than 80,000 people. Intuit’s vital programs include our exhibitions, the Teacher Fellowship Program, and the IntuiTeens summer youth internships. Furthermore, Intuit continues to engage outsider art audiences with our publication The Outsider and various public programs aimed at youth and adults like Art After Work, which feature artists, scholars, authors, filmmakers, storytelling, poetry, music, dance and collaborations with service organizations.

EVENT DETAILS

Silent auction
Special raffle item
Live Call to Donate by auctioneer Gary Metzner
Segment honoring artist, art educator and musician Lonnie Holley
Appearance by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin
Presentation by outsider art scholar Leisa Runquist
Special remarks from Intuit friends around the country

Learn more about the gala by reading the Visionary Ball 2020 Program on Issuu.

REGISTRATION

Reserve tickets by visiting the Visionary Ball 2020 website. Intuit processes payment for Visionary Ball tickets through One Cause. When completing your purchase, you will be redirected to the One Cause website for checkout. If you are unable to complete your transaction using One Cause, please contact us at (312) 624-9487 or intuit@art.org for assistance.

The week of the gala, registrants will receive an email with the link to access the livestream. Please contact claire@art.org with questions.

MEET LONNIE HOLLEY, VISIONARY AWARDEE

Since 1979, Lonnie Holley has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity. His art and music, “born out of struggle, hardship, but perhaps more importantly, out of furious curiosity and biological necessity” (lonnieholley.com), has manifested itself in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and sound. Holley’s sculptures are constructed from found materials in the oldest tradition of African American sculpture. Objects, already imbued with cultural and artistic metaphor, are combined into narrative sculptures that commemorate places, people, and events. In 2007, Holley was Intuit’s first artist in residence, and he is the second artist (the other was Mr. Imagination, 2009) to be named for this award. Intuit is pleased to honor Lonnie Holley at this year’s Visionary Ball with the Visionary Award, given to those who have made outstanding contributions to the field of outsider art.

MEET THE CO-CHAIRS

Stacy WellsStacy Wells works at the World Wildlife Fund. Previously, Stacy worked in the commercial banking industry for many years, including most recently as a Senior Vice President Regional Manager for Wells Fargo in the not-for-profit healthcare industry sector. She has served as a volunteer and board member for several boards, including Chicago-based Spark Ventures, which works to lift communities out of poverty. Stacy is passionate about art and drawn to the colorful, emotional and sometimes raw work of outsider artists.

Michelle Woods is a life long Chicago resident who graduated from DePaul University with a degree in Urban Studies and French. She began a career in public service with the City of Chicago more than twenty-five years ago. She has been the project manager for the popular Chicago Riverwalk since 2002, and she continues to develop this public amenity creating opportunities for small, minority and women-owned businesses reflective of the cultural diversity of the City of Chicago.

Official Website

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Tags: Chicago, Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Lonnie Holley, Michelle Woods, Stacy Wells, Visionary Ball 2020, West Town