Kering teams with Phaidon, Artspace on art for a cause

French conglomerate Kering is furthering its discussion of women in the arts through a philanthropic publishing partnership.

“Great Women Artists,” published by Phaidon, charts the work and stories of 400 artists over the course of 500 years. Around the launch of the book, Kering is teaming up with Phaidon and Artspace to debut a series of prints to raise money for a female-focused cause.

Prints with purpose
Great Women Artists covers artists from 50 countries, including Marina Abramović, Georgia O’Keeffe, Yoko Ono, Tracey Emin, Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman and Frida Kahlo.

Coinciding with the book launch, Phaidon, Artspace and Kering have created a series of limited-edition prints featuring commissioned works from six artists: Cecily Brown, Lubaina Himid, Bharti Kher, Catherine Opie, Jenny Saville, and Dana Schutz. Each of the six prints will be available in a series of 100 and will retail on Artspace from Oct. 2.

Consumers can buy the entire set of prints for $9,000 or an individual print for $1,500. The goal is to raise $1 million through the art sale.

Prints for the Great Women Artists series. Image credit: Artspace

The proceeds from the sale will benefit Promundo-US, a nonprofit that works to promote gender equality. Promundo-US is a partner of the Kering Foundation, the group’s organization centered on combatting violence.

Promundo-US, Kering and other partners have joined forces to develop a Boyhood Campaign and Initiative that will change how the male narrative is communicated through the media, helping parents, teachers, coaches and other adults raise boys who are conscientious. Funds raised from the sale of the prints will go towards launching the campaign.

As part of the partnership, Kering, Phaidon and Artspace will host events such as a dinner and panel discussion.

Preventing violence against women around the world is at the heart of the Kering Foundation, while also being a smart business decision for the luxury group.

Vogue International editor Suzy Menkes and a board director of the Kering Foundation discussed how the luxury industry is bringing awareness to social issues during an intimate conversation at the Condé Nast International Luxury Conference on April 10. With a focus on preventing violence against women, the Kering Foundation supports initiatives that help both men and women, according to the director (see story).