Jeff Koons, Flag (2020). ©Jeff Koons courtesy of David Zwirner
As the US presidential election approaches, the art world is mobilising to fundraise for the Joe Biden and Kamala Harris campaign, which last month announced it has raised a record-breaking $365m, of which 95% came from grassroots supporters.
The artists Martha Tuttle and Sarah Faux organised a sale of works on paper to benefit Walk the Walk 2020, a fundraising initiative for grassroots community organisations that aims to undo decades of systematic voter suppression that has made it more difficult for voters of colour to participate in the political process. The funds will be donated to six electoral non-profits in eight key swing states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
“Like so many other people, we asked ourselves what we could do in this moment, when action feels so crucial and we feel so helpless,” Tuttle says. “Neither Faux or I have many financial resources but we did have access to art and artists, and to people who gladly donated.”
Hosted by the artist-run online gallery Drawer until 29 September, the sale was designed to raise funds before the 5 October voting registration deadline in several states. Including works by more than 50 artists such as Louis Fratino, Pat Steir, Katherine Bradford and others, Tuttle and Faux were aiming to add between $10,000 to $20,000 to the Walk the Walks goal of $2.5m. "On the first day of the sale, however, we were able to raise $35,000," Tuttle says.
Walk the Walk has also partnered with artists Angela Dufresne and Mala Iqbal to design t-shirts that read "Biden the bullet for Democrats"—a nod to some more progressive voters' dismay over the Democratic presidential pick while emphasising the collective call to "dump Trump".
Earlier this month, David Zwirner announced he will spearhead a sale of works by more than 100 artists, galleries and estates to benefit the Biden Victory Fund, the official fundraising committee of the Democratic nominee. The Artists for Biden sale will be live from 2-8 October and aims to “to ensure that Democrats across the country have the resources they need to win”, according to the gallery.
Zwirners sale will offer works priced between $2,500 and $350,000 and is hosted on Platform, an initiative developed by the dealer to host online sales for industry peers and partners that launched earlier this year to aid galleries in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The sale features works by a diverse group of artists represented by a wide range of galleries, including Carol Bove, Cecily Brown, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley and many more.
Among the artists participating in the sale, Betye Saar says that she is “happy to donate artwork to support the Biden-Harris campaign, along with my vote”, and that we are living in “troubled times that require qualified leaders”. She adds: “I feel that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are what we need to get through it.”
I cannot be a bystander in what is the most critical election in the history of the US Artist Rochelle Feinstein
Rashid Johnson says he wanted to “be a part of bringing about the positive change and healing that our country deeply needs”, and that Biden and Harris will “begin to put us on that path”, while Rochelle Feinstein says she views herself as a “citizen artist”, and that her participation in the Biden Victory Fundraiser is as both a citizen artist and a voter. “I cannot be a bystander in what is the most critical election in the history of the US,” she adds.
Artists anRead More – Source
[contf] [contfnew] 
the art news paper
[contfnewc] [contfnewc]
