Since the art cuts attacked, cultural spaces have had to be pretty crafty to keep their doors open. Pallas Projects is amongst the most entrepreneurial, with its annual fundraising party Running in the Hall, but on Thursday 9th October, Pallas will be teaming up Whyte’s Auctioneers to introduce a new kind of event to the Irish art calendar: the benefit auction. Beginning with an exhibition of the works – which will represent some 40 or so artists – and culminating in a glittering auction gala, it is set to emerge as a vibrant a social occasion and celebratory affair as well as raising a few quid for the non-profit arts space.
On the night, pop-up food from Medley’s Andrew Rudd will circulate, alongside drinks on pristine paddles not unlike those waved in the air as the prices get hot: whiskey from Pallas Projects’ new neighbours The Teeling Whiskey Co; craft beer from Galway Bay Brewery and Against The Grain. Bidding wars will commence. Contemporary art by living Irish artists will find new homes. Art collectors will be born. There’s even a raffle, with prizes from local shops and businesses, and if that sounds a little lowbrow for a fine art auction, that’s exactly the point. The event doesn’t cater for a stuffy gaggle of greying gentry; the idea is that a wide cross-section of society will be thrown into the shaking pot: reactionary artists and proponents of DIY culture rubbing shoulders with cheque-booked supporters. It’s not a familiar type of event on the Irish art landscape – yet – but it is in leading art cities like New York and London.
Its arrival here can be credited, to a large extent, to Breda Kennedy, a visual arts professional who first pitched the idea to Pallas Projects curators/directors Mark Cullen and Gavin Murphy in the spring of this year. Having worked in the New York contemporary art world for 15 years, Breda has not only seen it all happen, she has produced four annual art benefits in New York as Executive Director of the Dumbo Arts Centre in Brooklyn. “Unlike in Europe, US non-profits get little funding from the government,” Breda explains. “The bulk of their budget comes from foundation grants and earned income. In New York, the single most effective means of raising earned income is through an annual benefit auction.”
Gillian Lawler, Extension
As well as generating revenue for artists and arts spaces, art benefits are an integral part of the city’s cultural and social life. “The benefit auction is the glue that binds all stakeholders and the community surrounding the organisation together for a fun, festival and social event once a year: artists in residence, alumni, the public, board members, friends, colleagues, family, art lovers,” says Breda. “The atmosphere is great: bidding wars generate buzz and excitement, and novice and veteran collectors participate in the same game. Young artists get a chance to exhibit and win new support, while established artists are happy to donate to an organisation that has made a big difference to their careers and their artist friends.” Perhaps most importantly to generating a buzz, she adds, “The events are inclusive and the party is not an intimidating white box situation for newcomers to art.”
The thing is, Irish art does sell, but it tends to travel abroad to do so: to Art Basel or Art Basel Miami Beach; Frieze London or The Armory in New York. Many of the artists included in this auction are staple names at these prestigious international art fairs. While this is obviously important – not only because it helps raise the international profile of Irish contemporary art – it also means the works are slipping away into private collections overseas, and not being appreciated in Irish homes. Turns out it’s not just our creative professionals that are emigrating abroad. It’s the work they produce, as well.
This leads us onto the next key criteria for the auction: all of the artists included are living ones. The revenue goes not to surly estates or deep-pocketed collectors, but to helping Pallas Studio make the ends meet, with 20% of the “hammer price” going to the artists themselves, many of whom are in the vital early stages of their careers. The benefit is a non-profit event, with even Whyte’s Auctioneers generously choosing to forgo fees and commission. And the artists involved are numerous, varying from established names like David Gobold, Amanda Coogan, Mark Garry and Fergus Martin, to recent graduates with studios in Pallas. The artists were selected by the Pallas curatorial team, meaning that whether in their formative years or at the peak of their career, a standard of quality is upheld.
Keith Wilson, Things To Come 12
“We started by asking artists who had shown with us over the years,” Gavin Murphy explains of the event’s programming. “Then this widened out to others whose work we admired – artists we didn’t know, but whom we hoped would have an appreciation for what we do, and who would want to support it. We’re now at the stage of trying to get a number of the preceding generation of artists to come on board – those who paved the way for the likes of us in the 1970s and 1980s.” During the course of our correspondence, Gavin snags one of these: the acclaimed painter Brian Maguire, a former head of fine art at NCAD.
The event will take place in the Irish Georgian Society’s City Assembly House, with its glorious octagonal room (pictured, top) on the Piano Nobile. It’s a rich setting both historically and aesthetically: built by the Society of Artists in Ireland between 1766 and 1771, the House is the first purpose-built art gallery in the British Isles, and possibly even in Europe. The Society of Irish Artists had the express aim of promoting the work of living Irish artists – not unlike Pallas who, since 1996, has provided quality studio spaces alongside its curated exhibition programme. Currently housed in an old school building in The Coombe, Pallas is no stranger to disrupting the typical White Cube exhibition format. Previous events have been staged in a semi-derelict block of flats and an ex-milking parlour in Smithfield, as well as a wing of the Hugh Lane.
Mark Garry, Sligo Smoke
No strangers to a challenge then. Even so, are its members afraid of taking this next step? “I guess the worry would be that Dublin isn’t ready for it,” Gavin admits. “But we hope that isn’t the case. The fact remains that our artists are making incredible work, showing in museums and shows all over the world, but very few people at home buy the work of living artists. We hope that can begin to change, and that this can be a help to that.” Fostering a culture of philanthropy is no small task, though the recent boom of crowd-funding might point towards the emergence of a more conscious (and cash-giving) cultural consumer. As well as raising funds for Pallas, patching over its losses during the budget cuts, Breda hopes the auction will increase the audience for contemporary art, and spread the “bug” for collecting. “Inside every Dubliner there’s a de Medici or a baby Saatchi just waiting to emerge,” she smiles.
Not sure your bank account will let you blossom into a Baby Saatchi? Come along for the buzz. Alongside the exhibition element, and the food and drink, it’ll be damn exciting. If you’ve ever felt your heart rate soar in the dying seconds of an eBay auction, you’ve experienced nothing yet. Let the bidding commence.
The Pallas Art Benefit will take place at the Irish Georgian Society’s City Assembly House, South William Street, D2, on October 9, with an exhibition of included works running beforehand.
Words: Rosa Abbott
