FutureGenerations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE            

TRAVEL + LEISURE'S ART AUCTION, “PROJECT GLOBE:
RAISES $125,000 FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS”
- An Auction of Original Works in Support of Future Generations, a Conservation and Community Development Nonprofit -

NEW YORK, NY, October 1, 2008 -- Maya Lin. April Gornik. Eric Boman. Manolo Blahnik. Laurie Simmons. Pat Steir. Fred Wilson. Sylvia Weinstock. These are among the 18 prominent artists, designers, and photographers who were commissioned by Travel + Leisure magazine to create one-of-a-kind works for Project Globe: An Art Auction raising $93,000 for Future Generations along with an associated $35,000 contribution from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

In partnership with PaceWildenstein and Christie’s, the live auction and gala was held September 18, 2008 at the Chelsea Arts Tower in New York City.  The limited editions of several pieces, including a $300 pistillo pendant by Monica Castiglioni, are available for sale until October 31, 2008 at  www.tlprojectglobe.com.

This generosity of support follows a Global Vision Award that Travel + Leisure presented to Future Generations in 2007 for its work in protecting the Four Great Rivers region in Tibet, China, an area the size of Washington State that provides water for 20 percent of humanity.  Auction proceeds will be used to promote community-based eco-tourism and conservation along one of these four rivers, the Brahmaputra.

Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of Travel+Leisure, with acclaimed artist Fred Wilson.Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief, Travel + Leisure comments, "Like travel, art has a transformative power, and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to bring together these passions so many people share for such a worthy and important cause. We’re delighted to partner with T+L Global Vision Award winner Future Generations, whose conservation efforts have brought crucial help to communities in some of the world’s most extraordinarily beautiful, yet vulnerable regions. We are particularly proud to have been able to enlist such a renowned and talented group of artists and designers for this worthy cause.”

Future Generations cultivates the capacity of people to create an equitable and enduring future. As a non-profit organization and graduate school in applied community change and conservation, the global reach of Future Generations extends to more than 7,000 communities in 19 countries. All proceeds will provide training and support for conservation and ecotourism activities along the river corridor that begins in Tibet, China and flows through Arunachal Pradesh, India to become the mighty Brahmaputra.

The exhibition and program was curated by Gabriella De Ferrari, a T+L contributing editor, art historian, and writer based in New York.

Project Globe AT&T Exhibit Connects Gala Participants with Future Generations representatives from India, Egypt, and ChinaSupport for Project Globe was provided by AT&T, British Airways, Ethos, the Principality of Monaco, and The Luxury Collection.

Project Globe 2008 Artists, Designers, + Photographers
·    Manolo Blahnik – One of the world’s most influential footwear designers, Manolo Blahnik has been honored by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the British Fashion Council six times.  He also designed the shoes for the film Marie Antoinette, which won an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
·    Eric Boman – An internationally renowned photographer whose work has appeared in Vogue, Vanity Fair, and House & Garden, Eric Boman’s images have also graced the covers of numerous books and albums. His book, Blahnik by Boman, is a photographic celebration of Manolo Blahnik’s work.
·    Constantin and Laurene Boym – Boym Partners founders Constantin and Laurene Leon Boym have designed for Alessi and Swatch, and created displays for many museums including the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Their “Babel Blocks”—celebrating the people of New York City—were most recently featured in the “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. For Project Globe, they created a 16-inch Babel Globe cube.
·    Monica Castiglioni – Monica Castiglioni is a Milanese jewelry designer known for her limited-edition bronze and silver rings, necklaces, pendants, and bracelets that utilize big, bold, architectural designs.
·    Sandro Chia - As part of the Italian Neo-Expressionist “Transavanguardia” movement, Sandro Chia has exhibited in the most prestigious museums and galleries in the world. His sculptures have been acquired by the Italian State for the permanent collection of the Italian Senate, and by the Province of Rome for its headquarters.
·    April Gornik – Painter April Gornik’s work is featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the High Museum of Art in Atlanta as well as other major public and private collections.
·    Gabriella Kiss – Gabriella Kiss is a sculptor-turned-jewelry designer whose hand-carved and metal-fabricated designs are often influenced by nature.
·    Maya Lin – Maya Lin is a renowned American artist known for her architectural projects, public works, and studio-based sculptures, prints, and drawings. Her most prominent works are the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Civil Rights Memorial monument in Montgomery, Alabama.
·    Florent Morellet – French artist Florent Morellet’s “imagined maps” donned the walls of his eponymous, and legendary, New York City restaurant.
·    Rebecca Riley – Rebecca Riley is a New York-based painter who works primarily in oil and acrylic on canvas, and with a variety of media on paper. Her work is in numerous private collections in the United States, Canada, France, and Germany.
·    Laurie Simmons – Conceptual artist Laurie Simmons’s work is featured in the permanent collections of a dozen museums all over the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the Hara Museum in Tokyo.
·    Matt Solomon – Ceramicist Matt Solomon’s work and vision are frequently informed by nature. He has shown at the New York Design Fair, the New York Ceramics Fair, and the Neuberger Museum of Art in Purchase, NY.
·    Pat Steir – Since her first solo exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1973, acclaimed American painter Pat Steir’s career has included more than 150 one-person shows in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Steir also makes installation work and is an accomplished printmaker.
·    Dayanita Singh – New Delhi-based photographer Dayanita Singh is known for her portraits of middle and upper-class families in India. Her artwork is exhibited worldwide in galleries and museums such as the Tate Modern in London, the Asian Arts Museum in San Francisco, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in Boston.
·    Fred Wilson – Acclaimed artist Fred Wilson’s work has been a part of over 100 group exhibitions and many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Seattle Art Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. One of his solo exhibits, Fred Wilson, Objects and Installations, toured the United States for three years traveling to eight different venues across the country.
·    Sylvia Weinstock – Celebrated cake designer Sylvia Weinstock is known for beautiful, fresh, artistic cakes for every imaginable type of occasion.
·    Facundo de Zuviria – Buenos Aires-based photographer Facundo de Zuviria’s images are based in the urban landscape and are infused with irony and wit. His work is in the collections of the Fine Arts Museum of Buenos Aires, the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, the National Library in Paris, and in many private collections in Argentina and the United States.

All photos by: S.D. Mack

Contact: Travel+Leisure’s  Liz Marsh / 212 382 5684 / elzabeth.c.marsh@aexp.com
FutureGenerations’  Traci Hickson / 304 358 2000 / traci@future.org