Save the Date: June 24th.. for The Rema Hort Mann Foundation 10% Charity Event.
It's a new great event during Gay Pride Week NYC.. focused on Gay Artists!
Here's the event website : http://www.rhmfoundation.org/10percent/index.html
There's A Silent Art Auction Featuring Over
70 Works Donated by LGBTQ Artists
A fundraiser during gay pride week—
open to everyone! And no, the auction is not a bunch of bull dyke and giant penis pictures.
Wednesday, June 24th from 6 to 9pm
at 28 Wooster Street, the former home of art recession road kill Guild and Greyshkul Gallery.
Tickets $20 at the door.
Plus they have an amazing art auction featuring some of the most important LGBTQ artists in the world. Where 100% of all the proceeds from the sale of artwork go to support cancer patients, and visual artist and the creation of a new fund to sponsor event, presentations, and lectures by artists from the gay community. Can you have a more worthy cause?
(Photo #1 for auction.. by : Robert Melee Disco Tray(2009), Medium: Enamel on metal, Dimensions: 23" x 14", Minimum bid: $1,200, Estimated retail value: $2,400, Courtesy of the artist and Andrew Kreps Gallery)
So MAO got the chance to ask some nosy questions to the event organizer.. Quang Bao, director of The Rema Hort Mann Foundation.
Here's a bit of the MAO interview. See you on June 24th.. and HAPPY PRIDE! Plus there's more info here.
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1. So what is the the individual artist grant program at the RHM Foundation ? Have they had gay artists in the program?
A: Through an external nominating committee, the Foundation annually receives approximately 130 suggestions of eligible emerging artists. They represent everything from painters to performance artists to video artists. We're at eight grants at $10,000 now and the money is unrestricted. The committee is looking for the artist who hasn't had much exposure but is someone who has tremendous potential. I just checked the list of 94 grantees and over our 14 years of doing this, we have awarded grants to gay and lesbian artists every single year. 2003 was particularly pink.
2 What's RHM Foundation's ties to the Gay Community or to the Artist?
A: The visual art world, perhaps the art world in general, has so many gay artists, dealers, professionals and curators working in it. The Foundation board and volunteers reflect that. We'd be incomplete if we didn't somehow understand that while doing our work. Our grant program doesn't 'gay profile' anybody. Sometimes, you can look at an artist's work and make a conclusion about his or her sexuality--other times not at all. I suspect if we took the labels off 10%, people would never come to the conclusion that all of the works were created by gay artists. The Foundation keeps a modest budget and we tend to work on a very intimate level with artists who receive grants. We try to invite them to events, see their exhibitions--gay or straight and everything in between.
3. Why have just a Gay Artist focused charity event? Great Gay Artist.. isn't that term redundant?
A: Why not. A community can be brought together to show its strength and celebrate its characteristics. And quite frankly, you only have to love the art to buy it. People told us that fundraisers in summer time can't work because the art world is away. In this economy, a nonprofit can't take off an entire season. So, we're going for it (and hoping it pays out).
4. So you're establishing a year-long fund for art projects that supports the larger community of gay artists? What type of projects are you considering? Have there been any so far? How many projects per year? What's the goal for the fund?
A: The fund will be established based on the proceeds after 10% so nothing's set yet. We plan to put together a simple RFP that will allow for the artists to propose ideas for an event, public presentation or even artist workshop that will put artists in touch with one another and a larger public. We'll form an external committee to help decide who gets the grants and how much. You have to put back whatever you draw from a particular community, and this is our way of acknowledging the true spirit and energy of 10%.
5.What are the highlights in terms of the artworks available and the party?
A: We've got over 70 pieces--beautiful photographs priced at $250 from recent MFA graduates all the way up to Andy Warhols. We're also intending to make this a real party. I'm not a hip downtown club goer but I understand that our 2 DJs are the hottest, the host is someone people fly in to see and there's free drinking all night long. Anyone who comes will want to stay--there just won't be a better art benefit to go to during gay pride week.
