FAIRHOPE, Ala. - You may well know the work of Bruce Larsen, Nall, Charlie Lucas, Ricky Trione and more than 20 other local professional artists who have contributed their creative efforts to this year’s ArtPartners on the Bay silent auction and reception at the Eastern Shore Art Center.

But you probably aren't familiar with upwards of 50 local “emerging artists” who have collaborated with those established community artists for a showcase and auction of their work.

Thursday night is your chance to learn about those artists and bid on more 100 works created by those collaborations, which have been on display at ESAC since June 4.

The ArtPartners program fosters the collaboration between established community artists and those emerging artists with disabilities or chronic illnesses.

Organizers of the fundraising event for VSA Alabama, which support the ArtPartners program at ESAC and the Independent Living Center in Mobile, hope all of the art will go home with new owners. They also encourage early bids at ESAC before June 24, for those unable to attend the event.

“VSA Alabama’s mission is to serve children and adults with disabilities and chronic illnesses,” said Erin Wedbrook Yuskaitis, program manager of the Birmingham-based nonprofit group, which is affiliated with the international organization VSA located in Washington, D.C.

“Many people with disabilities find it difficult to speak, and they may not have the same ability as we have. But through their art, they're able to express their own voice and style.”

The ArtPartners program began in Birmingham in 2001 to bring together artists from the community and VSA Alabama's clients, Yuskaitis said.

The success of the program led to its expansion to the Mobile area in 2005 and to Fairhope in 2007, when the group established a relationship with ESAC, she said.

“We’re thankful for our partnership and our work with them,” Yuskaitis said. “We feel it’s a meaningful program because not only are the emerging artists creating works of work, but they’re learning to collaborate with an established community artist.”

The professional artists who volunteer to help the new artists also feel that they’ve gotten a lot out of the program and think it’s also important to the community, she said.

“The program has grown steadily in the past few years based on requests for us to impact more and more students each year,” said Nancy Raia, ESAC community arts director and a major driving force behind the partnership. “And the community artists have enjoyed working with the art-partnering that this show entails. Indeed, more and more artists have asked to work on the show.”

Raia usually conducts about three to five groups a month in the ArtPartners program, including some one-on-one sessions and whole day visits to the Regional School for the Deaf and Blind in Mobile.

A number of the emerging and community artists will be at the Thursday night event, she said.

“The event itself give these artists a chance to shine,” Yuskaitis said. “The process and the program give them them a voice. But the event itself gives them the opportunity to be in the spotlight and for everybody to realize and celebrate their talent.”

The ArtPartners on the Bay reception and auction is at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 24 at the Eastern Shore Art Center at 401 Oak St.. Tickets to attend are $15 and can be purchased either in advance or at ESAC. For more information, call 928-2228 or visit the website at www.esartcenter.com.