NEW YORK, US — illycaffè, known for its premium high-quality coffee and prominent role within art communities locally and abroad, is joining SFMOMA in bringing to life this year’s virtual Art Bash, a digital-only Art Party for All taking place April 12-15, 2021. illycaffè is supporting the four-day event to help the museum’s mission to make the art of our time a vital and meaningful part of public life, which is the same mission pursued by illy through its ongoing role and commitment within contemporary art.
This year, Art Bash will feature a series of extraordinary virtual events that celebrate contemporary art in the Bay Area and beyond with an outstanding community of artists. The online events, accessible to all, kicks off on Monday, April 12, with “In Conversation: Visionaries Virgil Abloh and Moved by the Motion” hosted by SFMOMA Curator of Contemporary ArtEungie Joo. Abloh is Chief Creative Director and founder of Off-White, and Men’s Artistic Director at Louis Vuitton. Moved by the Motion is a loosely affiliated “band” of interdisciplinary artists creating live performance and film since 2013.
A highlight event of Art Bash is “The All of Us: Collaborative Zine Making Organized by Alicia McCarthy,” taking place on Tuesday, April 13 from 4-5 p.m. Artist Alicia McCarthy biked between San Francisco studios and galleries asking fellow artists to contribute to a new zine. Virtual attendees will watch her experience of captured interactions with Real Time and Space artists Conrad Guevara and Kate Rhoades, then Tosha Stimage’s Saint Flora, and a stop at pt. 2 gallery for a peek into their creative process and can download the completed zine after the event.
To raise funds in support of SFMOMA’s education program, this year’s virtual Art Bash also includes a special thank-you event for those making a donation, with a live auction of works by Wayne Thiebaud, Charles Gaines, Wolfgang Tillmans, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Hung Liu on Wednesday, April 14.
Celebrate the close of Art Bash on Thursday, April 15 at “All Together Now: Concert and Dance Party an in-home dance party featuring Tycho, the Modern Lovers and multiple DJ’s spinning tunes.
illycaffè has been an official partner of SFMOMA since 2016. With the ideal to pursue a union of beauty (ofkalòs) and good (agathòs) that the Ancient Greek term kalokagathìa describes, illy works to spotlight strong ethical values through aesthetics that show continued improvement and positivity within humanity. A tangible expression of this beauty and good are the illy Art Collection cups. Coffee-lovers who sip illy coffee from an artist-designed cup enjoy a complete sensorial moment – from the aroma and taste of the illy blend, to the aesthetic, visual and tactile contemporary art experience. The illy Art Collection transforms an everyday object into a blank canvas and over 25 years, more than one hundred internationally renowned artists have worked on this canvas.
illy helps disseminate art and culture, supporting artists, institutions, and international exhibitions around the world. Most recently, illy supported SFMOMA’s 2019 SECA Award exhibition, which celebrated three Bay Area artists, each with a dedicated gallery: Kenyatta A.C. Hinkle, Sahar Khoury, and Marlon Mullen. Since 1967, the SECA Art Award has honored more than 70 Bay Area artists, including ArtBash artist Alicia McCarthy who was a 2017 SECA Award recipient, with an exhibition at SFMOMA and an accompanying publication. The award distinguishes Bay Area artists whose work, at the time of nomination, has not received substantial recognition from a major institution.
