INNOVATION FOR AUCTION
Fundraiser for Canada’s only design museum will be the institution’s first benefit of the sort,
Something unprecedented is about to happen on Bay St. For the past few weeks, behind the iconic steel doors designed by Charles Comfort in 1937 for the city’s former stock exchange, an influential group of the city’s tastemakers has been gathering to organize and curate the first Design Auction to benefit the Design Exchange (DX) on May 29.
For design junkies, or even those with a passing interest in interiors, the event promises to deliver, big time. Donations have been flying in from the design world’s A-list, including Studio Job, Kelly Wearstler and John Pawson; design-oriented manufacturers and suppliers from Alessi to Zuccarini, as well as from the private collections of design stars such as Bryan Gluckstein and Yabu & Pushelberg — all keen to offer support to what has emerged over the past three years under the stewardship of DX president and CEO Shauna Levy as Canada’s first (and only) design museum.
Creative director of home products at HBC and one of the key figures on the DX auction’s planning committee, Arren Williams says, “Having a design museum is quite simply a reflection of a sophisticated and civilized society. In Europe, design museums are everywhere. It’s almost a civic duty to show good design and share it with the community.”
Designer and television personality Tommy Smythe, another insider on the committee, agrees. “Design is a vitally important reflection of who we are as a culture,” says Smythe.
“As a repository for all things great in Canadian design, as well as an institution which brings the world of design to Canadians, DX is a critical part of our national identity.”
This ardent support is much appreciated. In 2013, DX received its last instalment of funds from a longtime corporate supporter; a recent city grant is a nod to Levy’s impressive efforts to put design on the cultural map. In the past three years, attendance figures have tripled; this summer, Levy will up the accessibility ante by “going nomadic” with museum pop-up exhibitions on 3D design (“3DXL”, already open to the public in a glass showroom on King St. W.) and “Harder, Faster, Tougher”, an exhibition on design’s influence on the world of sport to open at the Distillery in connection with the Pan Am Games to open at the Distillery.
But despite Levy’s tireless efforts to tear down the wall of that iconic front door, the pressing question of funding is one that isn’t fading away. Hence the idea of throwing a great big yard sale — albeit one involving Christie’s auctioneers; canapés and cock- tails; a machine-gun lamp by Philippe Starck and the latest sideboard from New York-based Dwell studio — to generate support in both senses of the word.
“I came up with the idea of an auction because I’m a little bit sentimental about the design industry,” says Levy, a former head of the Interior Design Show.
“I wondered, ‘What can I do to motivate the design industry, the designers, manufacturers and retailers, and create an event that gives back to our community at the same time?’ ”
Getting there hasn’t all been a breeze. As a lower-level supporter of the committee’s efforts to create a design auction from scratch, I have witnessed lively debate over how best to communicate the idea to the public; how on earth to display the high and low, and large and small items, from a $12,000 handpainted Moooi cabinet to an espresso machine, on offer together — and how long attendees can possibly stand a live auction without it intruding on the evening’s fun.
And yet the response so far has been most encouraging. “The donations we’ve been receiving have been, without exception, outstanding in their quality and unique in their story,” says Smythe, who refuses to divulge what he plans to bid on for fear of inciting an early bidding war. “I think we’re in for a very layered experience on the 29th — excitement and fun competition mixed with great conversation — and perhaps even a little learning.”
What’s more, the event has already generated buzz. “A lot of the international suppliers that I have reached out to were really keen to know more about the Design Exchange,” says Williams, who predicts the night is going to be “a ton of fun.”
Levy’s hope is “that we’ll be able to fill the room with all the people in this city who are really excited about design and give them an opportunity to get that fix.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, go to dx.org Karen von Hahn is a Toronto-based writer, trend observer and style commentator. Contact her at kvh@karenvonhahn.com.