This Tuesday, November 28th, help make the season merry and bright by celebrating Silver Art Projects – the premier residency for visual artists in New York City. Our program supports equality and equal access in the visual arts. We empower overlooked voices and endeavor to make sure that artists who are addressing the most pressing cultural issues of our time are both seen and discovered.
Since our inception in 2019, we've hosted nearly 100 artists in a year-long studio experience that resources and helps them realize their creative and professional dreams. We support artists whose lives have been impacted by the justice system or whose voices have been marginalized by forces in contemporary society. What's more, we offer them these studios at no cost to them, and we do this in the most inspiring place to make visionary work – the 28th floor of 4 World Trade Center – due to the incredible generosity of Silverstein Properties.
The results of the program are impressive. Residents boast a track record which stands out and shines because they're able to show their work to and eventually be represented by some of the most celebrated galleries, museums, and art collectors in the world. Every resident in the 2023 cohort has had their art featured in a show or featured by a prominent institution, due in no small part to this remarkable program.
The first annual SILVER ART GALA will introduce patrons to the incredible journeys of our artists. To this end, we are honoring the legacy of The Art for Justice Fund – one of Silver Art's most faithful supporters. The Art for Justice (A4J) Fund aligns artists, advocates, and allied donors to transform the criminal legal system and create awareness and empathy, envisioning a future where shared safety is available to all. Through the work of its grantee partners, the Fund seeks to end mass incarceration and shift the narrative around criminal justice reform through art. Inaugurated in 2017 under the philanthropic vision of Agnes Gund, A4J launched with $100M generated from the sale of Gund’s favorite painting, Roy Lichtenstein’s Masterpiece (1962). This spurred artists, collectors, and supporters to donate an additional $27M in support of the Fund’s mission to advance policy reform, shift public narratives on criminal justice, and promote the leadership of formerly incarcerated people while centering art as a catalyst to propel change. With institutional support from the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, A4J provided over 450 grants to nearly 200 artists, advocates, and organizations. When this 6-year time-limited fund ended as planned in June, 2023, it had gifted over $127M and secured impactful policy, practice, and narrative change towards ending mass incarceration. For more about the work of Art for Justice, please see: http://artforjusticefund.org.
For an inspiring video on the shared mission of Art for Justice and Silver Art Projects, including studio footage of our own resident and Senior Fellow Jared Owens, see: https://youtu.be/3r0LQBzo_VA?si=UXczxY6_FhFMJiHJ
Proceeds from the Silver Art Gala will go to underwrite the work of our artists and programming. Patrons who become residency sponsors will have a studio at 4 World Trade Center named after them, and will be able to engage with the trajectory of the artists in the program over the course of a year.
TICKETS and SPONSORSHIP purchases are available by pointing your browser here:
https://ticketstripe.com/silverartgala
Studio Residency Sponsors will have their name attached to the studio of a forthcoming artist in the 2024 cohort and will be updated on their sponsored artist as well as have access to studio tours with guests throughout the year. Studio residency sponsors will also have their logos prominently displayed on the digital screens at the residency which are seen by prominent members of the art world and NYC business community. In addition, will have their names prominently featured in all marketing, promotional materials, and the program on the night of the event.
Corporate & Program Sponsors will have their names prominently featured in all marketing, promotional materials, and the program on the night of the event, in addition to having year-long access to artist studio tours to host guests and clients of the sponsor. Sponsors will also have their logos prominently displayed on the digital screens at the residency which are seen by prominent members of the art world and NYC business community.
Dinner Table Buyers will be hosted by the Executve Director in a private studio tour of Silver Art Projects artists residency subsequent to the event, and will get VIP access to available artwork, talks, and events through 2024.
Dinner will begin at 6:00 p.m. with studio experiences with artists, artists drawing from life, and inspiring testimonies from our visionary artists.
Dance and Art Party At 8:00 p.m., a celebrity DJ (soon to be announced) will kick off a festive evening of dance and celebration of surrounded by spectacular views on the 40th floor of 7 World Trade Center and inspiring artwork from the past 22 years of art collected by our founder, Larry Silverstein.
For more information about Silver Art Projects, please visit: www.silverart.org.We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
For questions about the Silver Art Gala, please write Executive Director Gregory Thornbury at: gthornbury@silverart.org.