Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced its first-ever art auction fundraiser -- Artists for Equality -- taking place on October 22, 2018 at the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York City. The event is hosted by Executive Co-Chairs Andy Cohen and Margaret Russell, and Co-Chairs Beth Rudin DeWoody, Andrea Glimcher, Sean & Mary Kelly, Antwaun Sargent, and Firooz Zahedi. Every dollar raised at this event will directly support HRC Equality Votes, HRC’s fundraising effort to mobilize voters and elect pro-equality candidates this November. The evening will feature cocktails with a silent auction powered by online auction platform Paddle8 and a live auction conducted by auctioneer Gabriela Palmieri.

Over 50 well-known artists are donating work including Donald Baechler, Lynda Benglis, Jessica Craig-Martin, Ramiro Gomez, Lyle Ashton Harris, Rachel Harrison, Alfredo Jaar, Jasper Johns, Rashid Johnson, Deborah Kass, Alex Katz, Louise Lawler, Robert Longo, Marilyn Minter, Ed Ruscha, Kenny Scharf, Dana Schutz, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Simmons, Alec Soth, Pat Steir, and Fred Wilson.  The silent auction will be powered by Paddle8 from October 8-22, and can be viewed at hrc.im/Paddle8

“Andy Cohen and I are so proud to partner with HRC in raising critical funds to elect pro-equality lawmakers this November,” said event co-chair Margaret Russell. “We’ve received an amazing response from an extraordinary group of great talents who have donated artwork to be auctioned at this event, and we salute their deep commitment to social justice. I’m looking forward to October 22nd—an evening for artists, art-lovers, and activists to join together to celebrate art and to rededicate ourselves to the fight for equality for all.”

“We are so inspired by the outpouring of support from the visual arts community for the Human Rights Campaign’s inaugural Artists for Equality benefit auction,” said Christopher Speron, Vice President, Development at the Human Rights Campaign. “This incredible group of legendary talent and emerging artists are advancing social justice through the power of art — and bringing us closer to our vision for a world in which LGBTQ people are equal in every sense. We are honored to join so many creative minds in auctioning off works of art that will help to raise crucial funds for HRC’s effort to elect a pro-equality majority in Congress this fall.”

For more information on the auction or to purchase tickets please visit hrc.im/artistsforequality.

For more than a year, HRC has been on the ground building support for pro-equality candidates with priority investments in six key states — Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and in nearly 70 U.S. congressional districts across the country. The critically important work is a part of coast-to-coast campaign to mobilize voters for the midterm elections called HRC Rising, which represents the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s 38-year history.

The estimated 10 million LGBTQ voters across the nation have proven to be one of the most important and effective voting blocs in the nation. And HRC and Catalist have expanded that pool by using sophisticated analytics to identify 52 million “Equality Voters”  — voters who support LGBTQ-inclusive policies including marriage equality, equitable family law, and laws that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Supporters in any state can text “VOTER” to 30644 to verify their voter registration, find their polling place, and receive election reminders. For more information on how to get involved, sign up to volunteer, or join an advocacy training, visit HRC’s Equality Voter Action Center.