Behind his camera, Lawrence photographer Tim Forcade usually has an expectation that the world will “show up for him.”

He gives the world his attention, his patience, and he’s presented with remarkable moments.

Forcade captured one of those moments that caught him “absolutely dumbstruck” at the Flint Hills. In a vertical photograph titled “Hover,” Forcade shot a serene moment in which a single cloud floated in a blue sky over a bright green Kansas prairie.

He recently donated “Hover,” along with another photograph of an orchid titled “Terminus,” to the Lawrence Arts Center as an appreciative gesture. Forcade was the featured artist during Saturday’s 28th annual benefit art auction at the center, 940 N.H.

The center invited the public, which turned out in the several hundreds, to support the center’s gallery program, which features the work of local and national artists.

“Art is sort of the heart and soul of the community,” said Rick Mitchell, co-chairman of the Lawrence Art Auction Committee.

More than 100 volunteers and five months went into making the event happen. The main feature of the event is a silent and live auction of work of about 270 area artists. Funds raised support future gallery exhibits by area and national artists.

An estimated 650 to 700 people attended this year, Mitchell said. Last year, about 750 attended the auction, which generated more than $130,000.

Carol Munchoff was viewing black and white photographs on one gallery wall as people filtered in and out making silent bids. She said she’s been coming to the benefit every year.

“We have some tremendous artists in the community,” she said. “It’s a cultural mecca.”

Forcade, 60, also a media artist, said he was honored to be this year’s featured artist.

“It’s stunning because there are 290 pieces and 270 artists; a lot of them are internationally recognized,” he said.

The arts center helps artists as much as the artists help the center, he said.

“The art center’s always been incredibly supportive of us. I think the art center has given us a great shot,” Forcade said, adding that the center encourages people in a community to interact.

“Art is important, because it’d just be dead flat without it,” he said.