AKArt Presents an Alwan for the Arts Auction 2014 Exhibition and Reception, 6/26

Join us this Thursday, June 26, for an exhibition and reception for the 2014 Alwan for the Arts Auction at Shirin Gallery NY (located at 511 West 25th Street, Suite 507, New York, New York, 10001). The event will feature a musical performance by select members of the Alwan Ensemble and catering by The Southside Supper Club. Alwan for the Arts has also partnered with online auction house Paddle8 to allow a global collecting community to participate in the 2014 Alwan Art Auction. The Paddle8 Benefit Auction is live for bidding through Monday, June 30 at paddle8.com/auctions/alwan.

The 2014 Alwan for the Arts Auction is made possible with the support of Shirin Gallery NY, AKArt Advisory, The Committee, and 567 Global, and features artwork by over 30 world-renowned and emerging Middle Eastern artists, providing an opportunity for established and new collectors to acquire works, while supporting the mission of Alwan for the Arts. Artists featured in the auction include: SAMIRA ABBASSY, JAISHRI ABICHANDANI, ETEL ADNAN, ALI AHMAD SA'ID (ADONIS), AMINA AHMED, DIANA AL-HADID, SAMA ALSHAIBI, MOUNIRA AL SOLH, AMBREEN BUTT, MAYA CHAMI, ALI CHERRI, RUBY CHISHTI, ALI CHITSAZ, LINDA CUMMINGS, ROYA FARASSAT, GANZEER, MARIAM GHANI, SERGE HAMAD, MAHMOUD HAMADANI, AIDA IZADPANAH, PAYAM MOFIDI, NAEEM MOHAIEMEN, KEVORK MOURAD, DENISE NASSAR, MARWAN RECHMAOUI, FARIDEH SAKHAEIFAR, SADRA SHAHAB, NEGIN SHARIFZADEH, KAMRAN TAHERIMOGHADDAM, KATHERINE TOUKHY, KATAYOUN VAZIRI, SHADI YOUSEFIAN... and more.

Dates + Times + Locations
Alwan Exhibition + Reception Thursday, June 26, 5-9pm

Shirin Gallery NY
511 West 25th Street, Suite 507
New York, NY 10001

Paddle8 Online Benefit Art Auction
Live through June 30
paddle8.com/auctions/alwan

About Alwan for the Arts
Alwan for the Arts (Alwan) is a creative space, presenting Middle Eastern arts and culture with a contemporary flair, and commissioning new works that investigate art and cultural identity by providing artists, filmmakers, writers, and cultural practitioners a forum for their creative projects, while actively promoting cross-artistic and cross-cultural collaboration. Alwan casts a critical eye on current events and trends in arts and culture related to the Arab world, the Middle East, and the Arab/Middle Eastern Diaspora, and engages the American arts scene by challenging its assumptions about the Arabs, the Middle East, the profound arts and culture of these peoples and this region, and their representation.

Since 1998, Alwan has played a leading role in the promotion of the diverse cultures of the Middle East, continually expanding its programming to include concerts, film festivals, dance performances, academic talks, poetry readings, panel discussions, theatrical performances, visual arts exhibits, as well as educational offerings in language, dance, and music. Alwan has grown into a cultural and aesthetic hub, curating and producing up to one hundred events each year, with the mission of building a diverse community around the arts that encourages engagement, participation, and dialogue from all its members. Today, Alwan has over 7,000 followers and subscribers, and enjoys the support of a wide array of foundations, governmental, and non-governmental institutions as well as private and individual donors.

About Paddle8
Paddle8 is an online auction house, connecting buyers and sellers of fine art and collectibles across the Internet. Paddle8 presents curated auctions of art and collectibles, as well as benefit auctions in collaboration with non-profits. To date, Paddle8 has partnered with over 200 non-profit organizations worldwide to present their benefit auctions online, dramatically expanding the audience of supporters and fundraising results for each sale. Founded in 2011 by Alexander Gilkes, an auctioneer and LVMH veteran, and Aditya Julka, a Harvard Business School MBA and serial entrepreneur, Paddle8 now has offices in New York, L.A., and London. Access Paddle8 auctions anytime at Paddle8.com or through Paddle8's iPhone app, available for free in the App Store.