WHEN ARTISTS FINANCE ART

January 2009
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Written by Ilaria Scarinci April 3 2008

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

A CONTEMPORARY AUCTION TO FINANCE THE RESTORATION OF TWO MASKS AT THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM

The Egyptian Museum in Turin has undertaken a splendid fund raising initiative. The restoration of two very important antique works will be financed by contemporary art. Fifty artists in fact have decided to donate their works for an auction whose funds will go towards the restoration. The initiative started off thanks to the intervention of the Fondazione Città Italia, an institute whose objectives are towards recuperating our artistic patrimony. The Foundation doesn’t only promote the gathering of private resources which, along with public resources, can contribute towards financing the cultural sector, but also the active participation of the citizens by diffusing artistic beauties and safeguarding our patrimony. The fact that the institute’s chairman is Alain Elkann, also president of the Egyptian Museum, has allowed the strong collaboration between the two institutions in order to realise this event. The donated works from fifty contemporary artists were put on exhibit on March 31^st and will remain open to the public until April 6^th at the Schiaparelli room in the Egyptian Museum. It has thus created a special occasion to enable dialogue between antique and contemporary art exhibited in the same place with the common objective of attaining the beauty of art.

The auction will take place on April 7^th at the same museum. Dante Ferretti’s presence will add an ulterior suggestive element to the initiative underlining the exceptional event and also the location chosen to hold the auction. Among the artists presented at auction we find some interesting names such as Cracking Art. The groups boss Omar Ronda who made himself known with numerous installations executed all over Europe decided to donate one of their fun works to this cause. Among the other artists that joined in the initiative we also find old names in the auction world such as Camillo Francia and Pietro Gallina. The fund will finance the restoration of two hard masks dating back to the old ages (712-322 b.C.) which by now is showing signs of its age. The restoration project will allow us to conserve this splendid testimony to Egyptian culture.

For the event The Art of loving Art, the artistic direction is down to Patrizia Fischer, and the auction is co-ordinated by Bolaffi Spa and the catalogue curated by the publisher Giulio Bolaffi.

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