Hi, How Are You?: ASH BASH Fundraiser Thursday

Tomorrow night, the Austin State Hospital's Volunteer Services Council are holding a benefit art show and auction. The event will feature art by Daniel Johnston as well as work by professional artists and State Hospital patients. Johnston's work colorfully features his whimsical other-worldly character sketches, while other donations range from the simple geometric figures of Jerry Walters to Piercarlo Abate's striking portraits of asylum patients from 1915 Venice. The hospital's patient art is bold and often abstract, combining mediums and themes to create true outsider art.

This year's ASH BASH is taking place on the 18th floor of 816 Congress Avenue, and will feature music by Grand Hotel. Artists from the Austin Figurative Gallery will be on hand to draw portraits. The event is being catered by the Traveling Bistro, Imperial, Thai Fresh, Greenling, Cissi's Market, and Luxe Sweets with wine from Western Beverages. VIP participants get access to priority bidding in the night's art auction and a champagne reception with food from Ecstatic Cuisine. Proceeds from the fundraiser will go directly to support patient art therapy programs and to help improve the life of Austin State Hospital patients and staff. One of the more affordable fancy fundraising events, general admission to ASH BASH runs $20 dollars, while VIP tickets cost $50; both can be purchased online.