Will There Ever Be A Rainbow?
Unicorn Art Show
Bolm Studios
Austin, Texas
November 4 – November 8, 2005
Austin Chronicle writeup
Press/Awards
Reception with artists and voting for the People’s Choice Award and presentation of the artists prizes on Saturday, November 5 from 4pm – 11pm
The show “Will there ever be a Rainbow?” is Ian Shults’ pet project of an art event, produced and coordinated by Michael Schliefke. Developed long ago in a cloudy haze, the idea to match unicorn art and Austin artists finally came to life and was hosted by Bolm Studios in November of 2005.
The unicorn art show featured the work of 60 artists,spanning painting, sculpture, illustration, animation and video art.
Participating Artists:
| Paul Ahern | Corey Goering | Maria Reyes |
| Ethan Azarian | Parke Gregg | Shannon Roberts |
| Paul Beck | Jenny Hart | Matthew Rodriguez |
| Wade Beesley | Alice Henderson | Victoria Lydia Rodriguez |
| Kim Canton | Christopher Hernandez | Alfonso Rabago |
| Ismael Cavazos | Hector Hernandez | Michael Schliefke |
| Josh Chalmers | Dennis Hodges | Ian Shults |
| Chris Chappell | Sandra Jackson | Christina Simon |
| Kelly Chanteloup | Heather Jarry | Rory Skagen |
| Charlie Chauvin | Bill Jeffrey | Jen Frost Smith |
| Ryan Christensen | Nathan Jensen | Tina Sparkle |
| Chris Coakley | Rachel Koper | Anna Swanson |
| Kevin Collins | Marissa Little | Jana Swec |
| Mike Combs | Shea Little | Alicia Traveria |
| Matt Cowan | Michelle Mayer | Teddy Vuong |
| Wendy Davenport | Dan Morrison | Cherie Weaver |
| Ryan Day | Travis Nichols | James Webb |
| Lisa DiRicco | Matt Norris | Adam Whatley |
| JD Fanning | Katy O’Connor | Barbara Whitehead |
| Aaron Fox | Mike Parsons | Jennifer Wilson |
| Nathan Fox | Hope Perkins | Amanda Winkles & Brandon Gonzalez |
| Michael Furrh | Brandon Petrie | Glenn Bryant Worley |
| Martin Garcia | Joseph Phillips | Dana Younger |
| Carol Gilson |
Show History
The ‘Will There Ever Be a Rainbow’ unicorn art show took place in November of 2005 as a collaboration between Austin based artists Ian Shults and Michael Schliefke.
Using the gallery space at Bolm Studios (now Big Medium), 12 artists were originally invited to participate but invitations to artists had to be cut off at 60 due to demand. Each artist was given the task of making a piece of art based off the loose subject of ‘unicorn. Artists ran in every direction imaginable – paintings, drawings, quilts, animated movies, rocking horse unicorns made of rebar, toys, and other artistic objects filled out the show. The event grew in volume to not only fill the Bolm Studios Gallery, but also encompassed the studio spaces as well as the entire courtyard of the art space.
The show attracted a crowd estimated over 1600 people. There were activities for children throughout the day portion of the show, including a unicorn pinata.During the entire event, the public was encouraged to vote for the People’s Choice Award. Over 400 ballots were counted, and additional juror’s choice awards were selected.
The show became legendary among the Austin art scene, and ended up winning the Best Art Show of 2005 by the Austin Chronicle and was the first major art event put together by the team of Ian Shults and Michael Schliefke that would continue for the next decade.
