Friday night was buzzing with activity for the 2020 Bad Art by Good People Inauguration, Dinner and Auction.
Held at BrownRidge Hall in the VFW building on Court Street, the tongue-in-cheek event was the culmination of more than a month of campaigning and voting for art created by community members.
Bad Art is a key fundraiser each year for the Champaign County Arts Council.
Fans of the artists were encouraged to pay for votes online prior to the dinner and auction. The night of the auction, each piece of art was also eligible for cash votes placed in fishbowls on display in front of the art pieces.
Champaign County Court Judge Brett Gilbert auctioned the pieces after dinner, complete with his customary chiding and lampooning of certain aspects of the amateur art that annual attendees of the event have come to know and love.
After all the voting and bidding, a total of $15,687 in revenue was collected, including $7,818 in paid votes and $7,869 in auction proceeds.
The winner of the 2020 Golden Brush Award was Josh Jacobs of the Urbana Police Division, who had 1,926 votes and credited his wife for all her assistance with the creation of his art entry — as well as her expert campaigning on social media.
Bev Titus was runner-up in total votes with 1,842 and Myles Trempe placed third with 1,672.
