A Note on Our Upcoming Benefit

Dear friends,

2010 has proven the Rail’s most challenging and exciting in that we have survived our ten-year mark. However, with the reassurance and public acknowledgment of our contribution to the city’s cultural life, we strive for ever greater commitment and rigor in the coming years. Needless to say, we are grateful to the artists who believe in our work, without which the Rail would not have the strength and wisdom to continue.

More importantly, you all have inspired us to nurture our community, one that perceives art as a way of life. Despite the common wisdom “if it’s free, it can’t be that good” or “when one pays for something, one appreciates it more,” what we’re doing as a collective is entirely removed from any pragmatic notion of supply and demand. In fact, everything we’re making is absurdly impractical. And contrary to how it may appear—effortlessly in good rags, with 15 to 20 thousand copies on the street in Manhattan and Brooklyn—we do need your support. While none of us care about being paid for our work, we do care about keeping the Rail alive.

In all of our ten years we have only organized three art auctions. I am always a bit depressed to ask artist friends to contribute, simply because it contradicts our purpose: to support, rather than to exploit, artists. However, occasionally we are pressed to request contributions. This month, on Saturday, February 19, we will host a silent art auction at the Visual Arts Gallery at SVA to generate additional funding to pay solely for our production and printing costs. You can find the most up-to-date information on the event at brooklynrail.org/auction. I hope you can all come and support us by purchasing a work of art from our artist friends.

See you all soon.
Phong Bui