Project RED Art Auction Expected To Raise More Than $40M for Global Fund Programs in Africa
British artist Damien Hirst and Irish musician Bono on Feb. 14, 2008, will host a Project RED auction of contemporary art donated by several artists that is expected to raise more than $40 million to support HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria programs in Africa, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.
More than 100 pieces of art, all of which incorporate the color red, will be auctioned. Proceeds will go to the United Nations Foundation to support Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria programs. The pieces will be exhibited at the Gagosian Gallery in New York from Feb. 4 to Feb. 13 (AP/International Herald Tribune, 12/5). The auction will be held at Sotheby's auction house in New York, Reuters reports.
"For a relatively small amount of effort on each artist's part, we can actually save many lives," Hirst said. Bono called the auction a "real moment in art history" (Collett-White, Reuters, 12/5).