On Saturday, October 19, Cindy and Howard Rachofsky and Lisa and John Runyon hosted the 25th and final TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art event at The Rachofsky House in Dallas. This year’s event raised more than $10 million.
TWO x TWO projection on the exterior of the Rachofsky House. Photo: Kevin Tachman
The annual event was launched in 1999 to support amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA). Over the past 25 years, TWO x TWO has raised over $130 million for its beneficiaries becoming amfAR’s largest fundraiser in the U.S. and the DMA’s largest annual fundraiser. Through this initiative, the museum has added more than 350 works of contemporary art to its permanent collection, including works by Frank Bowling, Walter De Maria, Julie Mehretu, Bruce Nauman, Laura Owens, Sigmar Polke, Jackson Pollock, Charles Ray, Gerhard Richter, Joan Semmel, Lorna Simpson, Alex da Corte, Glenn Ligon, and Jonas Wood.
Howard and Cindy Rachofsky. Photo: Bruno, Snap The Picture
In a press release, Mr. Rachofsky, who founded the event with his wife, stated, “As we mark the 25th and final year of TWO x TWO, we are deeply honored to have hosted this momentous event and humbled by its quarter-century legacy supporting two important causes… This milestone year is a testament to the extraordinary generosity of our artists, dealers, and supporters who have made TWO x TWO a cherished asset in our community… As we close this chapter, we reflect on the unique opportunity TWO x TWO has provided to celebrate visual arts while funding crucial research. This 25th-anniversary celebration serves as both a culmination and a fitting farewell to an event that has left a permanent mark on our community.”
TWO x TWO installation at the Rachofsky House. Photo: Kevin Tachman
During the event, Melissa Ireland, the Executive Director of TWO x TWO, announced two surprise honors for the Rachofskys. First, the DMA has established a new position, the Rachofsky Contemporary Art Fellow, a position that will support contemporary art programming and initiatives at the museum. Additionally, amfAR has renamed an award given at their events as the Cindy and Howard Rachofsky Award for Artistic Excellence.
Katherine Brodbeck, the Hoffman Family Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at the Dallas Museum of Art, told Glasstire, “TWO x TWO for AIDS and Arts has been the most significant single source of support for acquisitions of contemporary art at the DMA over the past 25 years… [The fundraiser] has helped put Dallas on the map as a global destination for contemporary art, and the DMA is honored to be the co-beneficiary of this truly remarkable legacy.”
Learn more about the history of the TWO x TWO event, including past chairs, honored artists, and the beneficiaries of the initiative, via the event website.
