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PARK CITY -- What can you do with a discarded ski lift? You'd be surprised. Utah artists and corporations are joining forces to raise money for charity and make you smile at the same time.
Sparks are flying in Mike Bronn's studio. The iron works artist is creating a tree-limb motif for an old ski lift chair. The Canyons donated its 42-year-old Golden Eagle lift for an exhibit and auction.
"I'm trying to make a wood rocking chair...so, we're taking steel and trying to make it look like branches," Bronn says.
The "Chairity Lift" exhibit begins on the Kimball Art Center porch with a chariot of fire and rickshaws; inside, the creations range from the colorful to the cozy.
The exhibit has captured national attention. eBay is auctioning some of the lift chairs and the New York Times will do the story Sunday.
Robin Marrouche, executive director of the Kimball Art Center, said, "It's primarily a fundraiser, so we hope to be able to raise a lot of money for the Kimball Art Center and our free education programs and exhibits, and also the 20 other charities we're able to support with this."
6:30 pm - 10:00 pm
Grand Summit Resort Ballroom
4000 Canyons Resort Dr, Park City
Tickets:
- $50.00 per person in advance
- $75.00 per person week of the event
Presented by Kimball Arts Center
Besides 20 artists, 20 corporations have put their creative talents into other lift chairs, like one that can be found at Skullcandy. Twenty five percent of the proceeds will go to charity, in this case, the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
"One of our employees, Johnny Mack, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and he's recovering now," Skullcandy designer Mike Odland, says. "That kind of grabbed our hearts and made us think about other people in that situation."
The very romantic lift chair, designed by Gigaplex Architects, will benefit the University of Utah Architecture program, which builds homes on the Navajo Reservation.
Our KSL designer added a 3D LED TV to one lift chair with a Blu-ray edition of "White Christmas." The proceeds from that one will go to Quarters for Christmas.
Many who are part of "Charity Lift" say they have fond memories of riding the lifts at The Canyons; now some will take a piece of history home with them.
The eBay portion of "Charity Lift" runs through December 15th. The Kimball Art Center auction takes place December 17th.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
