'Something Gainesville has never seen': Quinlan's inaugural ball to raise funds for after-school programming, art therapy

Sep. 13—Local benefactors of the arts have an excuse to dress to the nines for an evening of dining, dancing and supporting their favorite cause.

The Quinlan Visual Arts Center's inaugural Q Ball is set for 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at Lanier Technical College's Ramsey Conference Center.

Q Ball

What: A fundraising event for Quinlan Visual Arts Center's Quinlan School of Art

When: 7-11 p.m. Oct. 1

Where: Ramsey Conference Center ballroom, 2535 Lanier Tech Drive, Gainesville

How much: $200 for individual gold ticket; $500 for individual platinum ticket; $2,000 for gold table for 10; $5,000 for platinum table for 10

More info: quinlanartscenter.org/q-ball.html

Fashioned after the Met Gala, "fashion's biggest night out," the formal affair doubles as a fundraiser for the Quinlan School of Art, a multidisciplinary after-school art program for K-12 students, to secure technology for digital art and photography classes, create scholarships, make upgrades to the Quinlan's pottery studio (which is available to children and adults alike) and hire an art therapist to help students struggling in school or home life.

The program launched in 2021 following "a tremendous number of calls from teachers and parents requesting an artistic outlet for kids because they weren't sure whether school would remain in session in-person due to the uncertainties of the pandemic," The Quinlan's executive director Nairika Cornett said. "Kids were really getting anxious, kids were feeling lonely, there were new behavioral issues in kids who were otherwise fine, there were isolation problems."

After just a few classes, Cornett noticed "a change for the better" in many of the students, as the program enabled them to communicate through art the issues they otherwise couldn't put into words.

"We do a lot of taking emotion and putting it on paper," Cornett said. "It might be easier for them than actually having to bring out the words, 'I'm being bullied' or 'I'm feeling anxious' or 'I'm feeling lonely.' Because a lot of times when you're a kindergartener, first, second or third grader, you may not be able to articulate, but even then you know something is wrong. Art makes that a whole lot easier for them to express."

Cornett has noticed a shift in children's demeanor at the Quinlan's last few summer art camps, too, and attributes it to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Kids are displaying greater defiance or, on the other end, a lot of dissidence, lack of self-confidence. And the numbers of those are bothersome. You're seeing kids burdened with things that they really shouldn't have to be, and the pandemic has played a tremendous role in it."

To make art's therapeutic outlets more accessible, Cornett aims to create scholarships for students who can't afford to attend the Quinlan School of Art, which runs about $250 per class over the course of eight to 12 weeks. If their families can't afford the classes, they likely can't afford counseling services either, Cornett said.

"This would kill many birds (with one stone), giving them a creative outlet, giving them friends, giving them a home outside of their home — and, in the process, getting the therapy they need, that they may not even know they need," Cornett said.

Cornett commended the Gainesville community for its faithful support of the Quinlan through the years, and feels sure its members will seize the opportunity to show up once more.

"We are so blessed and so lucky that the community has responded so favorably to our growth, our offerings," she said. "They've literally, every single time, met our needs and goals."

According to Cornett, the Q Ball is "diametrically different" from the Quinlan's annual gala, which targets artists, art collectors and appreciators.

Unlike its spring counterpart, there will be no art auction or raffle at the Q Ball; in fact, attendees are encouraged to leave their wallets at home.

The intention, Cornett said, is to draw a more diverse crowd to the Quinlan.

"Sometimes art institutions have a fear factor or a snobbery attached to them; I want to break down those barriers," Cornett said. "Nobody who has purchased a ticket will be asked to purchase anything there. We don't need a credit card, just their presence."

And, like the Met Gala, the Q Ball also has a theme: "All That Glitters."

"We expect people to come decked out in their finest and shiniest," Jill Mansfield, Q Ball committee chairwoman and Quinlan board member, said. "Anything goes."

Hor d'oeuvres will be catered by Epting Events in Athens. Rather than a seated dinner, food stations and host bars will be set up throughout the ballroom, including a dessert station, a short rib station and seafood station, complete with raw oysters and oysters Rockefeller, shrimp cocktail, smoked salmon and seared tuna.

Famous for its homemade pralines, Epting will be preparing those on site as well, according to Mansfield.

Guests may also want to don a pair of dancing shoes — the 13-piece Atlanta Groove Factory will be performing nonstop, their repertoire running the gamut from jazz to Motown to contemporary sound.

Individual tickets and tables for 10 are available on gold and platinum levels.

Individual gold tickets are $200; gold tables are $2,000.

Individual platinum tickets are $500; platinum tables are $5,000.

On the platinum level, ticket holders are afforded entrance to an exclusive VIP lounge with hand-rolled cigars, top-shelf liquor tastings, specialty foods and prizes.

Tickets and tables can be purchased online at quinlanartscenter.org/q-ball.html. With questions, prospective ticket holders can contact the Quinlan at 770-536-2575 or info@qvac.org.

The ballroom has a 500-guest capacity, Cornett said, and about 14 tables are still available.

"We're hoping this event is something Gainesville has never seen," Cornett said. "It's really just dancing, eating, gathering and mingling, but for a cause."