FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Joana Casas, Program Communications Manager
P: (212) 806-1602; E: joana.casas@amfar.org
amfAR Teams Up with Artsy to Raise Funds for HIV Cure Research
Online auction benefits generationCURE; Includes works by artists like
Cindy Sherman, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Robert Rauschenberg, and Steven Klein,
and a unique collaboration between Room & Board and Shantell Martin
generationCURE Solstice event happens June 23 at The Hudson Hotel in NYC
NEW YORK, June 19, 2015 – amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, has collaborated with Artsy, the leading resource for learning about and collecting art, to host an exclusive online auction benefitting generationCURE, an initiative aimed at helping the Foundation accelerate its search for an HIV cure by cultivating the next, and hopefully, last generation of AIDS activists.
The online auction includes works from contemporary artists Robert Beck, William Eggleston, Steven Klein, Brett Lloyd, artist duo McDermott & McGough, Robert Rauschenberg, Cindy Sherman, and Sam Taylor-Johnson. It also features a one-of-a-kind work by artist Shantell Martin, who turned a Room & Board Lira leather lounge chair into a canvas with her trademark black-and-white illustrations using white acrylic leather paint. Bidding is open now through June 30, 2015, at 12:00 PM EDT at artsy.net/amfAR-auction.
The auction coincides with amfAR’s upcoming generationCURE Solstice event on Tuesday, June 23, at The Hudson Hotel in New York City, where Shantell Martin’s creation will be on view. Guests will be able to bid on all lots via Artsy kiosks and mobile phones. Tickets for Solstice can be purchased at amfar.org/solstice2015.
“This is one of the first times I’ve used a paintbrush, but it’s definitely good to get out of your comfort zone,” said Martin, who is also an Event Chair for the Solstice event. “Maybe this will inspire a new technique or new process, or something different for me in the future.”
Martin, 34, is celebrated for creating bold and intricate line illustrations on various surfaces including large-scale installations, digital and multi-media performances and academic residencies with institutions like Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and New York University. amfAR recently partnered with Martin on a series of cause-related projects, including designing a limited edition beach towel and a digital performance during the organization’s Inspiration Gala in New York on June 16.
“We’re excited that Artsy is spotlighting major works by some of the best contemporary artists of our time, many of whom have been longtime amfAR supporters,” said Eric Muscatell, amfAR’s Vice President of Development. “With a young artist like Shantell Martin getting involved in amfAR’s mission to find a cure for HIV, we hope that a new generation will follow and come together to finally help us end this epidemic.”
generationCURE was started in 2011 by a small group of young professionals dedicated to helping amfAR accelerate its search for a cure for HIV/AIDS. In just four years, generationCURE has raised more than $210,000 for amfAR, and recently awarded its first cure-focused research grant to Dr. Brad Jones, assistant professor at George Washington University’s Research Center for the Cure and Eradication of HIV. The generationCURE Leadership Council is hoping to raise $150,000 in 2015 to fund a second cure-focused research project.
About amfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested $415 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 3,300 research teams worldwide. Learn more about amfAR at www.amfar.org.
About Artsy
Artsy is the leading resource for learning about and collecting art from over 3,000 leading galleries, 500 museums and institutions, 40 international art fairs and select auctions. Artsy provides free access via its website (Artsy.net) and iPhone app to 300,000 images of art and architecture by 40,000 artists, which includes the world’s largest online database of contemporary art. Artsy's encyclopedic database spans historical works, such as the Rosetta Stone and the Colosseum, to modern and contemporary works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, Richard Serra, Sarah Lucas, and Cindy Sherman. Powered by The Art Genome Project, a classification system that maps the connections between artists and artworks, Artsy fosters new generations of art lovers, museum-goers, patrons, and collectors. Artsy is honored to support the fundraising efforts of important art institutions through state-of-the-art Web and mobile ecommerce and auction technology.
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