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Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, hosts for the annual
TWO x TWO for
AIDS and Art, have confirmed that seven-time GRAMMY
Award®-winner Gladys Knight will perform at the 15th annual TWO
x TWO for
AIDS and Art fundraising
event which is scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 2013 at
the
Richard Meier-designed Rachofsky House.
Very few singers over the last fifty years have matched her
unassailable artistry. Gladys Knight has earned number one
hits in Pop, R&B and Adult Contemporary, and has triumphed
in film, television and live performance.
A humanitarian and philanthropist, Knight is devoted to
various worthy causes, including the American Diabetes
Association, for which she is a national spokesperson, the
American Cancer Society, the Boys & Girls Club of America,
the Minority AIDS Project, amfAR and Crisis Intervention.
She has been honored by numerous organizations as well,
including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Congress of Racial
Equality (CORE), and B’Nai Brith,
among others.
Since its inception over fourteen years ago, TWO
x TWO for AIDS and Art (twoxtwo.org)
has raised more than $40 million in support of essential
AIDS research at amfAR and for the Contemporary Art
Acquisitions Fund at the Dallas Museum of Art.
To date, over 150 exceptional works of art have been
acquired by the Dallas Museum of Art with proceeds from TWO
x TWO. This reinvestment strategy creates a synergistic
partnership designed to benefit all associated with the
event.
Noted art patron and longtime TWO
x TWO supporter,
Christen Wilson, has accepted the position of Chairman for
the October 26 gala and auction. Artist Luc Tuymans has been
selected as the recipient of the 2013 amfAR Award
for Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight
Against AIDS and
Chris Salgardo, President, Kiehl’s Since 1851, as the amfAR
Leadership
Award recipient.
Drawing prominent artists, art collectors and
philanthropists from around the world,
the annual black-tie gala is part of a week-long series of
events. It is the largest U.S. fundraiser for both amfAR and
the Dallas Museum of Art. An
eagerly anticipated event that quickly sells out, the gala
benefit features a seated dinner for 400 guests with both a
live and silent auction of major works of contemporary art
and unique luxury items.
Jamie Niven, Chairman, Sotheby’s, North and South America,
will once again return as the auctioneer for the live part
of the auction during the gala.
The Rachofsky House is also open for guest tours of the TWO
x TWO exhibition
during the two weeks leading up to the gala. During
these two weeks of public and private guest tours, preview
parties and events, over 1,500 people will visit the
Rachofsky House.
All sponsors and donated lots are featured in super hard
copy catalogues, which feature the artist and gallery
websites, and which are sent to collectors around the globe
for absentee bidding.
Georgia-born, Knight began performing gospel music at age
four in the Mount Mariah Baptist Church and sang as a guest
soloist with the Morris Brown College Choir. Three years
later, she won the grand prize on television’s “Ted Mack’s
Amateur Hour,” and the following year, she, along with her
brother Bubba, her sister Brenda and her cousins William and
Elenor Guest, formed The Pips. In 1959, Brenda and Elenor
left the group and were replaced by Cousin Edward Patten and
friend Langston George. The group was renamed Gladys Knight
& The Pips, and following George’s departure in 1962, the
classic line-up was in place.
In addition to dozens of live performances throughout the
year, Knight currently stars in the syndicated sitcom “The
First Family,” on BET/CENTRIC, where she plays the mother of
the President. This fall, Knight will lend her musical
expertise again for the second season of CENTRIC’s original
series “Apollo Live.” Joining judges Doug E. Fresh and
Michael Bivins, the legendary songstress will give guidance
to hopeful contestants each week. She is also currently
developing several other television projects.
Other recent television and film credits include the Tyler
Perry film “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” a cameo on the Emmy
Award-winning NBC hit comedy “30 Rock,” the holiday-themed “Holidaze,”
her first animated project to which she also contributed a
track, among others. Knight also appeared as a guest judge
on FOX’s smash hit “American Idol,” and performed in the
show’s always star-studded finale.
Today, Knight helps oversee her busy personal entertainment
corporation. She is a mother, great-grandmother, performer
and a businesswoman with a spiritual outlook on life. Faith
in God has been the driving force behind all of Knight’s
endeavors, guiding her through her many successes.
Over the years, previous VIP celebrity
guests at TWO
x TWO events
have included Sharon Stone, Sigourney Weaver, Shirley
MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Barry Manilow, Natasha Richardson,
John Benjamin Hickey, Taylor Dayne, Dita Von Teese, Stanley
Tucci, Gavin Rossdale, Alan Cumming, Cheyenne Jackson and
Patti LaBelle.
Renowned artists Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Julian
Schnabel, April Gornik, Joel Shapiro, Cecily Brown, Tom
Friedman, Elizabeth Peyton, Jim Hodges, Peter Doig,
Christopher Wool, Mark Grotjahn and Richard Phillips have
been honored.
National and international sponsors have partnered with TWO
x TWO over
the years. Currently,
the list of sponsors for the 15th anniversary
weekend includes:
• Presenting Sponsor: Audi of America
• Platinum Sponsors: Dior,
Sotheby’s, Kiehl’s Since 1851
• Gold Sponsors: Alexander McQueen, Aston Martin of
Dallas, AT&T, Chubb Personal Insurance, Dom Perignon,
Michele by Fossil, Moët Hennessy USA, Neiman Marcus,
Stephanie and John Roberts, Todd Events, Tom Ford, U.S.
Trust, U.S. Risk.
Prior
to the gala and auction dinner on October 26, there will be
several distinctive and exciting events which are part of
the 2013 TWO x
TWO schedule:
Monday, September 23, 2013
New York Preview of TWO
x TWO auction
highlights
Sponsored by Sotheby’s
By invitation only
Sotheby’s, 1334 York Avenue, New York, NY
Thursday, October 24, 2013
FIRST LOOK: A Preview Party and Fundraiser
Sponsored by
Michele by Fossil
Food by Lombardi Family Catering
Sips by Belvedere
Tickets $500 each; available at www.twoxtwo.org/First-Look
7:00 – 10:00 p.m. at The Rachofsky House, Dallas, Texas
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Sunday Brunch and Award Presentation
Presented by U.S. Trust
Honoring Luc Tuymans, Recipient
of amfAR’s 2013 Award
of Excellence for Artistic Contributions to the Fight
Against AIDS
Hosted by Amy and Vernon Faulconer and Cindy and
Howard Rachofsky
11:00 a.m. Brunch
and award presentation
By invitation only
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at The Warehouse, Dallas, Texas
For more information, please visit www.twoxtwo.org.
About TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art
Since its inception, TWO x TWO for AIDS and
Art has raised more than $40
million in
support of essential AIDS research at amfAR and for the
Contemporary Art Acquisitions Fund at the Dallas Museum of
Art. TWO x TWO
for AIDS and Art is the largest U.S. fundraiser for amfAR
and the Dallas Museum of Art and is recognized as one of the
top events in Dallas.
TWO x TWO FOR AIDS AND ART BENEFICIARIES
amfAR, founded in 1985, is dedicated to
ending the global AIDS epidemic through innovative research.
With the freedom and flexibility to respond quickly to
emerging areas of scientific promise, amfAR plays a
catalytic role in accelerating the pace of HIV/AIDS research
and achieving real breakthroughs. amfAR-funded research has
increased our understanding of HIV and has helped lay the
groundwork for major advances in the treatment and
prevention of HIV/AIDS. Since 1985, amfAR has invested over
$366 million in its mission and has awarded grants to more
than 2,200 research teams worldwide. TWO
x TWO is
amfAR’s largest fundraiser in the United States. www.amfar.org
The Dallas Museum of Art, established in
1903, has an encyclopedic collection of more than 26,000
works spanning 5,000 years of history and representing all
media with renowned strengths in the arts of the ancient
Americas, Africa, Indonesia, and South Asia; European and
American painting, sculpture, and decorative arts; and
American and international contemporary art.
Proceeds from TWO x TWO support the DMA’s Contemporary Art
Acquisitions Fund and exhibitions and have been used to
purchase over 150 major works of contemporary art for the
museum over the last thirteen years.
The Dallas Museum of Art is the anchor of the Dallas Arts
District and serves as a cultural magnet for the city with
diverse programming ranging from exhibitions and lectures to
concerts, literary readings, and dramatic and dance
presentations. The Museum serves more than one-half million
visitors a year and offers more than 3,500 education and
public programs annually, designed to engage people of all
ages with the power and excitement of art. The
Dallas Museum of Art is supported in part by the generosity
of Museum members and donors and by the citizens of Dallas
through the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs and
the Texas Commission on the Arts. www.dallasmuseumofart.org
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