A date, place, and an artist have been chosen for the 2019 version of the annual MTV Re:Define event: The date is March 29. It'll take place at the Statler Dallas hotel.
The honoree is celebrated artist and longtime Re:Define supporter Marc Quinn.
The gala event will include a seated dinner in the Grand Ballroom at the Statler Hotel and a contemporary art and luxury item auction. It'll be chaired by Merrill Lynch Dallas Vice President Sami Abboud and co-hosted by The Goss-Michael Foundation co-founders Joyce Goss and Kenny Goss.
The Goss-Michael Foundation is also introducing its first annual MTV Re:Define Award, established to recognize excellence in contemporary art by a postgraduate fine arts student. Students in their final program year from the current top 25 fine arts programs across the globe may submit their work for consideration. International, baby.
Kenny Goss says in a release that the award is designed to provide financial support and connections to help the artist transition into their professional career. "We look forward to this inaugural award, which will put a spotlight on an up-and-coming artist," he says.
MTV Re:Define raises money for the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, whose mission is to work toward an HIV-free world, while ensuring the conversation is driven by empathy, inclusion, and humanity, rather than stigma and prejudice.
Jonny Burt and Joe Kennedy, founders of the Unit London gallery and among the youngest gallerists in London, will serve as art chairs.
Marc Quinn is a British artist born in 1964 who first came to prominence in 1991 with with his sculpture Self (1991), a cast of the artist's head, made entirely of his blood, which is frozen and kept at sub-zero temperatures by its own refrigerated display unit.
Recurring themes include man's relationship with nature and how that is mediated by human desire; what identity and beauty mean and why people are compelled to transform theirs.
He has been a previous donor, offering his works for auction such as his Eye painting at the 2016 event and a fingerprint painting in 2017.
Since 2011, MTV Re:Define has been a premiere exhibition and auction in Dallas, raising more than $12.5 million for HIV prevention. Prior artists who've been involved include Michael Craig Martin, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Nate Lowman, Sterling Ruby, Damien Hirst, Sarah Morris, Theaster Gates, and Kenny Scharf.
