Grabhorn Institute 2010 Spring Benefit Dinner
Guest of Honor: Julie Mehretu, artist
Offering of a New Julie Mehretu Drawing
In April 2010, artist Julie Mehretu generously donated a new drawing to be sold to benefit the nonprofit Grabhorn Institute.
“Runway”, drawing, graphite on Rives BFK paper, 22 by 30 inches, 2010. Minimum offer: $25,000.
The drawing was unveiled at the Grabhorn Benefit Dinner on April 27 and is on display in the gallery at Arion Press. Click here to view image.
Offers will be accepted through May 15. The five highest bidders will be allowed to participate in a final round. The winning bidder will be informed on Friday, May 21, and other participants notified that the sale has been concluded.
TO MAKE AN OFFER: Please supply your contact information and offer in writing by email or post by midnight on May 15. On May 17, the five highest bidders will be given the week to increase their offers over the highest received.
The Grabhorn Institute is the nonprofit owner of Arion Press and M & H Type. Its mission is the preservation and continuation of the use of its historic bookmaking facility. Its educational programs include college courses and apprenticeships in typecasting, letterpress printing, and book binding. It has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the nation's “irreplaceable cultural treasures.” Arion Press publishes hand-crafted limited edition books illustrated by contemporary artists, often accompanied by suites of prints. Its project with Julie Mehretu, an edition of the poetry of Sappho, will be issued in late 2010.
Please contact us with any questions or to make arrangements to view the Julie Mehretu drawing at Arion Press.
About the Artist: Julie Mehretu
Julie Mehretu is one of the outstanding painters of her generation. A charismatic young woman of Ethiopian descent, she grew up in Michigan and now lives in New York City. The recipient of a 2005 MacArthur “genius” award, she is known for large paintings (which can be seen at SFMOMA and MoMA in New York) that combine a haunting abstraction with recognizable architectural imagery, and drawings on an intimate scale. Her exhibition “Grey Area” moves from Berlin’s Deutsche Guggenheim to the New York Guggenheim in May 2010. She is working on an Arion Press edition of the poetry of Sappho, to be published in Greek and in English in 2010.
About the Benefit Dinner
The annual Grabhorn Institute Spring Benefit Dinner at Arion Press will be held on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. We are delighted that acclaimed American artist Julie Mehretu will be guest of honor this year.
The Benefit is a sit-down dinner for 140 in the Arion Press gallery, preceded by cocktails in the pressroom and tours of the production areas by our craftsmen and apprentices. It is known for the excellence of the food and wine, the wit of the artist's remarks, and the brevity of other speeches. We do not interrupt dinner conversation with an auction or other fundraising gimmicks, and we rely on our loyal supporters to make the dinner a success.
This will be the eighth year that we have held the Benefit Dinner. Past years’ special guests have included internationally known artists John Baldessari, Martin Puryear, Wayne Thiebaud, Stephen Shore, and Jim Dine. Among our underwriters have been such distinctive businesses as Chronicle Books, Ridge Vineyards, Anchor Brewing Company, and Peet’s Coffee & Tea.
The generosity of our benefit guests supports Grabhorn Institute programs in preservation and education, including apprenticeships in typecasting, printing, and bookbinding, as well as our tours, lecture series, and gallery exhibitions. The Grabhorn Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions to it are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. The non-tax-deductible portion of each dinner is $40.
Benefit Dinner Reservations
Tables are available at $3,000, $5,000, and $10,000 sponsorship levels. Contributions to the Grabhorn Institute Dinner are tax-deductible excepting $40 per dinner. You may purchase tickets and tables securely online now, or submit a benefit reservation form.
| Individual ticket $275. Purchase now: |
Angel: $500. Per person Purchase now: |
Supporter: $3,000. Table of 8 Purchase now: |
Patron: $5,000. Table of 10 Purchase now: |
You may also click here to submit an online reservation form for the 2010 Benefit Dinner and pay offline:
Contribute
If you cannot attend the Benefit Dinner, please consider making a contribution to the non-profit Grabhorn Institute in lieu of purchasing a ticket. Contributions are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. You may contribute securely online, or by printing and mailing the contribution form.
Contribution form
Or donate securely online now with PayPal:
Your gift will be acknowledged with a letter of thanks for tax purposes.
Directions
Go west on Lake Street, turn right (north) on Fifteenth Avenue, and enter the Presidio. To the right of the large hospital currently under construction is a tall smokestack, which is attached to 1802 Hays Street (in the Presidio). Follow the road up and around to the left. Parking is available in front of our building. For more detailed directions, click here.
For a full listing of Grabhorn Institute lectures and other events, please see our Events page. Also see photos of recent events.
Contact
For questions, suggestions, or to discuss making a contribution to the Grabhorn Institute, please contact Andrew Hoyem or Diana Ketcham at:
Grabhorn Institute
1802 Hays Street, The Presidio
San Francisco, CA 94129
Telephone: 415-668-2548
Fax: 415-668-2550
E-mail: grabhorn@arionpress.com
Web site: www.arionpress.com
Arion Artist Mehretu Profile in New Yorker
Read about our April Benefit honoree in Calvin Tomkins’s profile of Julie Mehretu in the March 29 issue, which can be read online by New Yorker subscribers. Mehretu is contributing to an Arion Press edition of Sappho, with an introduction by Page duBois, to be published in 2010. One of her drawings will be sold to support the nonprofit Grabhorn Institute.
Recognition for
the Grabhorn Institute
An irreplaceable legacy
The Grabhorn Institute is designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as part of "the nation's irreplaceable historical and cultural legacy" under its Save America's Treasures program, in recognition of the Institute's work to preserve the typecasting and letterpress printing operation of Arion Press and M & H Type.
“There is now no other business like it anywhere in the world. You are, so far as I know, truly unique in the literal and only sense of the word.” –Richard Lawrence, Oxford, England
Journeyman Kenny Howard and apprentice Brian Ferrett in the composing room
“Arion Press books are the gold standard for fine presses today.” –Peter Krauss, Ursus Books, New York.
Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney reading in the gallery, May 2006
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Virtual Panoramic Tour
Browse panoramic images of the pressroom, typefoundry, book bindery, and gallery. View now.