RE:DEFINE
Dallas Contemporary and MTV Staying Alive join forces for a charity exhibition and online auction
In 2012, 60 Minutes reporter Morley Safer revealed that contemporary art sales had reached $5.5 billion that year from auctions alone. The astonishing number sparked a large debate about the price of art, since its value is mostly based on the informed yet subjective opinions, and oftentimes media hype. The upshot to this is that seemingly more people than ever are interested in viewing, buying and collecting art, which not only increases widespread cultural awareness but, when the right people are involved, can help improve society at large. One example is RE:DEFINE, an exhibition and auction co-curated by London-based arts springboard The Future Tense and Dallas Contemporary Executive Director Peter Doroshenko, with a complementary online component hosted by Paddle8. Proceeds benefit the MTV Staying Alive Foundation (a grant-giving organization committed to the fight against HIV/AIDS) and Dallas Contemporary (a non-collecting, not-for-profit museum dedicated to cultivating young artists through extensive learning programs).
To breathe the most life into this altruistic endeavor—which begins Friday, 21 March 2014—the RE:DEFINE team gathered an exciting range of artists to contribute and tapped American artist Richard Phillips to curate the musical programming, which will channel an early MTV rock’n’roll spirit. Those in attendance or perusing online from afar can place a bid on works spanning Damien Hirst, Mat Collishaw, Jennifer Rubell, Angel Otero, Daniel Arsham, Josh Abelow, Stanley Donwood, Jim Drain, JR, Penelope Umbrico, Margaret Lee and so many more.
The RE:DEFINE auction is a stimulating precursor to a citywide celebration, Dallas Arts Week, which will run from 5-13 April 2014. Advance bidding for the works on view at Dallas Contemporary begins 21 March 2014. Keep an eye out for some of our favorite works that we’ve chosen on the RE:DEFINE blog, along with other top picks from a bevy of writers, curators and collectors, as well as Phillips’ RE:DEFINE-inspired Spotify playlist.
