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Shafer Art Gallery reports a stellar year
2020 "Vortex Day" will be a virtual event
file shafer ball
Framed by an arch of Halloween-themed balloons, a couple dances during the artists’ ball at Barton County Community College’s Shafer Gallery last November. Artists who contributed work to the current Shafer Gallery Exhibit, the Barton County Arts Council Friends and Acquaintances Community Art Festival, donned costumes and masks for the first-ever Artists Masquerade Ball, which celebrated the exhibit’s opening. There was also live jazz, wine and refreshments.

The Shafer Art Gallery at Barton Community college experienced a “stellar year” in 2019 that included bringing an award-winning director to campus, acquiring an original 16th Century woodcut print, winning a national award, and continuing to connect with area artists of all ages.

Director Dave Barnes presented the gallery’s annual report Tuesday at the BCC Board of Trustees meeting. 

Among the highlights of 2019:

• Award-winning director and photographer Blair Hayes and his wife, actress Boti Bliss, spoke on campus about his personal journey and what it takes to become a professional in the entertainment industry. The gallery showed his exhibit, “The Light of Future Past.”

• Great Bend Attorney Robert Feldt donated an original 16th Century woodcut print by celebrated Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer. The print, which was made in 1511, will become part of the gallery’s permanent collection.

• The Kansas Wetlands Education Center and The Shafer Gallery were awarded the National Association of Interpretation (NAI) Region Six 2019 Outstanding Special Event Award for their collaborative art events, “Frogs: Sounding the Future” in 2016, and “The Connected World: Biodiversity in the Art of Carl Pieter Brest van Kempen” in 2019. Pam Martin at the KWEC submitted the application for the award.

“I just love those opportunities to really collaborate with other institutions in the community. It paid off with a major national award,” Barnes said. “I learned early on that collaboration is the key for a gallery like ours.”

Local artists and students are not ignored. Last November, the college held its “Barton County Arts Council Friends and Acquaintances McKown Artist’s Masquerade Ball” and its annual exhibit of area artists.

Last May, the Barton County Arts Council sponsored Vortex Day, which attracts over 100 area high school students who are interested in a career in the arts. Students who participate have the opportunity to exhibit their artwork in the professional venue of the Shafer Gallery and to experience making art during workshops.

This year, an in-person Vortex Day isn’t an option during the COVID-19 pandemic. Barnes said there will, however, still be a chance for local students to enter their art and attend workshop.

“We’re in the process of turning Vortex Day into an online competition,” Barnes said. “We’ve been processing entries from students.” The plan is to release the results on Barton’s Facebook page on May 6. “It will be as close as we can get to having an actual awards ceremony.”


shafer national award file
A tadpole-inspired art installation on display at the Shafer Gallery was part of the “Frogs: Sounding the Future” exhibit in 2016. The Kansas Wetlands Education Center and the Shafer in March were been awarded the National Association of Interpretation Region Six 2019 Outstanding Special Event Award for this and “The Connected World: Biodiversity in the Art of Carel Pieter Brest van Kempen” in 2019.

Distinguished instructors

In other business, Peter Solie, chairman of the Faculty Council, reported to the trustees that the council has selected five individuals as 2019-2020 Distinguished Instructors.

Solie said the group refined the application procedure this past year to encourage student involvement and make the first step in nominating an instructor easier. “We had a lot of participation this year,” he said. The council received 237 recommendations and narrowed the pool to 12 before making the final selections:

• Melissa Stevens - Great Bend Campus - Criminal Justice instructor

• Gil Cloud - Fort Riley Campus - Religion & Philosophy instructor

• Emily Cowles - BARTonline - Instructor/Coordinator of the Dietary Manager program

• Jessica Fullen - Fort Leavenworth Campus - Business & Communication instructor

• Darlene Sabio - Adjunct - Science instructor


Meeting at a glance


Here’s a brief look at Tuesday’s Barton Community College Board of Trustees meeting.

• Peter Solie, Faculty Council chair, provided the Faculty Council report.

• David Barnes, director of the Shafer Gallery, provided the gallery’s annual report.

• Charles Perkins, dean of institutional effectiveness, provided the strategic planning report.

• Kathy Kottas, dean of workforce training and community education, facilitated the presentation of a monitoring report on Work Preparedness.

• A consent agenda was approved that included hiring Angie Reed as an instructional specialist for adult education at the Larned Correctional Facility and Dana Walls as a custodian on the Barton County campus.

• The board met in executive session for 30 minutes to discuss the performance of an employee. Barton President Dr. Carl Heilman and Trustee Gary Burke joined the other trustees (who were at the Barton County campus) via Zoom.