September 3, 2021 (San Antonio, TX) - Artpace San Antonio is pleased to announce the Artpace 25th Anniversary Benefit Auction hosted by Sotheby’s to support its International Artist-in-Residence program. Since 1995, Artpace has welcomed over 260 groundbreaking artists to live, work, and exhibit in its space. The program’s 25th anniversary coincides with the sunset of a 20-year funding commitment from Artpace founder, artist, collector, and philanthropist Linda Pace, who envisioned a place where artists would be given the freedom to experiment and express their own voice. The benefit auction will support the continuation of the residency program in perpetuity through the newly established Artpace Artist Residency Endowment Fund. The auction will be live from September 18–28, 2021 exclusively via Sotheby’s website. The artwork included in the auction along with additional work donated by Janet Lennie Flohr, a collector and longtime friend of Artpace, will be on view at Artpace from September 16–19, 2021. Guests are invited to RSVP to the public reception on Thursday, September 16 from 6–8pm.

For each of the three annual sessions of the International Artist-in-Residence program, Artpace invites a guest curator to select three innovative artists working across mediums and styles to live and work at Artpace’s studios for two months. Each session includes an international artist, a US based artist, and an artist from Texas. The chosen artists are each provided with a furnished apartment and dedicated studio space available twenty-four hours a day, as well as a living stipend, production budget, and payment for travel. Artpace provides artists with the tools, resources, and connections they need to bring their visions to life. At the conclusion of the program, they’re given an exhibition, including a curator talk and an individual essay about their work, which is included in a published catalogue with other resident essays. Many of the artists who have been Artpace residents have received prestigious art awards, including four Turner Prizes, nine MacArthur Fellows, and 15 Guggenheim Fellows, and our artists have made 84 appearances at the Venice Biennale and Whitney Biennial.

The auction will feature 16 works by alumni artists, including Maurizio Cattelan, Antony Gormley, Glenn Ligon, Cauleen Smith, Wu Tsang, and many others. Some of the artwork was donated directly by the artists, and some has been donated by Janet Lennie Flohr.

“It was nice to go to a place where I could really count on people. I made a community in a month that it had taken me a of couple years to make in New York,” said artist Glenn Ligon.

“The residency at Artpace was a one of the special kinds and rare treasures for artists. A very productive and concentrated time with wonderful support of a dedicated team,” said artist Rosa Barba.

Artpace was founded on an ethos of experimentation and artistic freedom; Linda Pace wanted artists to have a place where they could feel supported and empowered in their vision. She located Artpace in San Antonio, so artists could get to know her home city, and her home city could experience a wider variety of regional, national, and international artists and artwork— free and open to public seven days a week. In a city where museum admission often costs as much as $20 per ticket, Artpace offers an accessible option for the community to see and enjoy fine art. Public programs include exhibition tours, artist and curator talks, community collaborations, artist workshops, and a book club. For 25 years, Artpace has nurtured a community of artists and art-lovers and provided an opportunity to bring new levels of creativity to life. Now, Artpace is excited to launch its Artist Residency Endowment Fund, so future generations of world-class artists can learn and grow within this space.

“Artpace was set up from the beginning as a place for artists to realize new and inventive work. Our resident artists are bringing the world to San Antonio and our community gets to come here and engage with the artists and their artwork. The proceeds from this auction will ensure that we can continue Linda’s vision of being a laboratory of dreams that supports artists and contemporary art,” said Director Riley Robinson.

Artists in auction: Rosa Barba, Maurizio Cattelan, Spencer Finch, Antony Gormley, Arturo Herrera, Isaac Julien, Glenn Ligon, Tala Madani, Christian Marclay, Shahzia Sikander, Cauleen Smith, and Wu Tsang.

About Artpace San AntonioArtpace San Antonio is a nonprofit residency program which supports regional, national, and international artists in the creation of new art. As a catalyst for artistic expression, we engage local communities with global art practices and experiences.