Ballroom Marfa Takes New York

by Natasha Wolff | April 9, 2013 12:00 am

New York gallerygoers, on-the-cusp artists and fashion notables flooded Chelsea’s Center 548 on Monday for a night of performances—both musical and non—and art auctions to benefit Ballroom Marfa[1], the highly-esteemed nonprofit space for contemporary art, film and music based in Marfa, Texas.  Over 40 artists, including Liz Cohen[2], Solange Azagury-Partridge[3] and Maryam Amiryani[4], participated in the silent and live auctions held during cocktails and dinner, respectively—some creating new pieces for the event. 

The gallery celebrates 10 years of supporting exceptional artists, filmmakers and musicians, but the benefit (which raised $765,000 this year) extends beyond Texas’ art scene: Fairfax Dorn, Ballroom Marfa’s co-founder and executive director, told DuJour before dinner, “We’re going to continue doing what we’ve been doing, but also expand our Marfa dialog,” the forefront of which is a focus on climate change and environmental issues through programs involving grants and partnerships in New York this fall.

Bringing it back to the night’s celebration, we asked Dorn what’s exciting her most in the art world. With a quick glance at all the works displayed—and performed—around us, she said: “The artists today are bold, they’re not afraid. We work with artists who are thinking on a very big scale, and to me, that’s amazing.”

Click through our DuJour gallery to see the event in action.

Source URL: https://dujour.com/cities/new-york/ballroom-marfa-benefit-nyc-photos/