“And it’s exciting that a national program dedicated to the permanence of historic African American places is reimagining and redeploying historic preservation to expand the American story.” historic preservation profession,” Leggs says.

The fund Leggs founded was formed in the aftermath of 2017’s cultural reckoning in Charlottesville, Virginia - “a moment where our nation’s social values were not on display,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter - which revealed an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of historic preservation in American society.Īt the outset, the architectural historian and preservationist says he and his team envisioned a $25 million dollar, five-year preservation campaign now, in their fifth anniversary year, they have raised more than $90 million dollars and supported more than 200 preservation projects nationwide. (who will sing one of Simone’s songs), plus a ticketed dinner catered by James Beard Award-winning chef JJ Johnson, whose four-course menu will merge traditional Southern ingredients with French techniques.īrent Leggs, executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund and senior vice president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is committed to reconstructing national identity, using architecture as a vessel. The gala will feature a live performance from Oscar and Grammy-award-winning musician H.E.R. “Each of the artists Adam and I have selected for the auction has a unique, powerful voice, and we’ve been moved by their generosity and enthusiasm for this important cause.” The participating artists are Cecily Brown, Gallagher, Johnson, Robert Longo, Mehretu, Pendleton, Martin Puryear, Sarah Sze, Mary Weatherford, Stanley Whitney and Anicka Yi. “I’m so excited to be a part of this expansive project centering on the life and legacy of Nina Simone, who has been a huge inspiration for so many,” Williams said in a statement. Sotheby’s will host the online bidding from May 12-22, and the artworks will be exhibited at Pace’s New York gallery from May 12–20, culminating in a gala at the gallery’s flagship on the 20th. The auction will be co-curated by Pendleton and tennis champion, entrepreneur and arts patron Venus Williams.

The Nina Simone Childhood Home Benefit Auction will feature 11 contemporary artworks and benefit the Nina Simone Childhood Home preservation project spearheaded by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Lisson Gallery Debuts First Los Angeles Outpost in Buzzy Sycamore District

The Aftermath by Kay Simone