Whitewall Hosts Art Patronage Panel at 100 East 53rd Street

Last night at the new luxury residential tower 100 East 53rd Street in New York, Whitewall hosted a panel on art patronage in the new digital age, followed by a cocktail. The evening was hosted by Whitewall’s founder, Michael Klug, and the 100 East 53^rd’s developer and co-founder and principal of RFR, Aby Rosen.

Held in one of the spacious luxury loft residences (hung with pieces by artists like Jonas Wood, Andy Warhol, Jeff Elrod, Urs Fischer, Bjarne Melgaard, Damien Hirst, and more) the panel entitled, “The Evolution of Patronage: How to Support Artists in a New Digital Era.” Joining the discussion with Whitewall’s editor in chief Katy Donoghue was Bettina Korek, the Founder of For Your Art and the Executive Director of Frieze LA; Patton Hindle, the Director of Arts for Kickstarter; and Sarah Arison, the president of the Arison Arts Foundation and trustee for the National YoungArts Foundation.

The panelists discussed new avenues for supporting artists and institutions—on digital platforms such as Kickstarter’s Drip, and as members of young collector’s groups. Arison continued to spread the fair warning that if you’re looking to get into collecting to make money, you’ll surely be disappointed. Hindle and Korek brought up the opportunities for transparency in today’s digital climate, while remaining wary of the use of data to be the sole driver of programming choices.  When asked who today’s current art patron role models were, everyone agreed: Agnes Gund.

Guests like Alberto Mugrabi, Will Cotton, Elena Soboleva, Leila Heller, Stuart Sundlun, Liz Hopfan, Simon Spurr, and Dan Ragone mingled and enjoyed champagne after the talk, taking in the Norman Foster-designed space and impressive contemporary art collection, curated by Rosen himself.

“Norman Foster’s design strikes the perfect balance between the bright and open aesthetic of an art gallery and the comfortable intimacy of an elegant private home,” said Rosen.