New gallery puts on fundraiser for Bikers Against Child Abuse

March 12--PITTSBURG, Kan. -- With all the leather-clad bikers standing around the art gallery, it seemed like a Bikers Against Child Abuse kid might be involved in the painting workshop. In fact, the painters were there to support the BACA -- not the other way around.

The workshop was put on by local art students to raise money for BACA, a nonprofit that offers biker gang toughness as a resource to victims of child abuse.

The concept is on display in a BACA promotional video, in which grim-faced bikers stand with arms crossed outside a boy's bedroom window so he can get a good night's sleep.

In practice, BACA members accompany abused children to public court hearings, hold parties and raise money to help families pay for child therapy. Proceeds from the fundraiser on Saturday will be used by BACA of Southeast Kansas for those activities. Each of about a dozen participants in the morning session paid $20, and the organizers plan to auction off the artwork to raise further funds.

Robby Raio, a 31-year-old who recently graduated from Pittsburg State University with a degree in fine art, sought out local charities willing to participate in an art-based event, and BACA was the first to step forward.

He said the event at Artforms Gallery was a first step in a broader effort to combine art and public service.

"I want to use art to make a difference," he said.

Raio said an auction of the artwork could take place next month, possibly with the help of a professional auctioneer.

Few BACA members sat down to paint pictures themselves, but about a dozen were on hand to thank the fundraisers and share their mission statement.

"We're always trying to spread the word about what we do and to spread the word about child abuse," said Lenny Jump, a member of the Southeast Kansas chapter who works by day as a graphic designer at PSU. "This seemed like a really good way to talk to a new group of people."

Raio enlisted the help of students and instructors in the art program at PSU. Some participated in the workshop, and members of a class on art exhibition will help arrange the paintings for public viewing.

"We thought it was a way to get out of class and help a good cause," said Luis Calderon, a senior art major.

BACA served about 300 children nationwide in 2014, according to documents filed with the IRS. The Southeast Kansas chapter "adopts" about six new children annually, Jump said.

Many BACA members prefer the nicknames they iron on to their biking leathers. The nonprofit listing service Guidestar registers the vice president of the national organization as "Eric aka Pipes Peterson." Jump introduces himself as Jumpstart.

Jester, another member of the Kansas chapter, says he prefers to remain anonymous because his BACA membership puts him on the wrong side of child abusers.

Still, he said he is ready to risk himself on behalf of a BACA kid.

"If you tell a child that you're going to be there for them, you will be there for them," he said.

After he first joined BACA, his mentor told him that the only valid excuses for failing to support a child are sickness and death.

Many members of the Southeast Kansas chapter are military veterans, including Jester, he said.

Childhood was the stated theme of the workshop, and many participants chose to paint landscapes.

"I'm painting Lakeside Park because I take my kids there," said Stephen Scaley, of Pittsburg. "I'm a parent, and it's a good cause" he said of the event.

Lanny Logan, 52, chose a camping scene, which he copied from an image displayed on his iPhone.

Though not a painter, Logan is an artist, one of several in Pittsburg who have formed a cooperative based at Artforms. Members work in the gallery and pay a membership fee in exchange for space to display their work.

Gallery workshops

Artforms Gallery, 620 N. Broadway in Pittsburg, Kan., holds regularly scheduled workshops like the one on Saturday. In an upcoming program, Lanny Logan will teach children how to make robot sculptures out of salvaged materials.

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