PHOTO17 hosted by Milk Studios, LA

@TheAIDSMonument

Affair: PHOTO17 hosted by Milk Studios Celebrates the 3rd Annual Photography Auction to Raise Funds for STORIES: The AIDS Monument

When: Thursday, October 5, 2017

Hot Spot: Milk Studios, 855 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Deets: Milk Studios, for the third consecutive year, will host PHOTO17, the annual photography auction to benefit STORIES: The AIDS Monument. The event will be held Thursday, October 5th at Milk’s Hollywood location. Sharon Stone will once again serve as Event Honorary Chair. "This Monument means love; it means hope; it means we do our part and stand against the ill will we see in the world...” said Stone announcing this year's event. Rufus Wainwright, one of the great male vocalists, composers, and songwriters of his generation, has released eight studio albums, three DVDs, and three live albums. He has collaborated with artists ranging from Elton John, David Byrne, Robbie Williams Mark Ronson, Joni Mitchell to Burt Bacharach. His album “Rufus Does Judy” recorded at Carnegie Hall in 2006 was nominated for a Grammy, will perform to support, STORIES: The AIDS Monument.

"This auction, now in its third year, attracts many of the world's finest photographers. The expressions and contributions toward the AIDS Monument make this a perfect event for Milk to support", noted Willie Maldonado, MILK LA’s founder & partner and Co-Chair of the PHOTO17 event. "The untold loss -- and untold stories of the artists, models, and fashion industry leaders cannot be measured. This is our way of bringing those stories to life, and to remember those people in an artistic way." Milk Studios has generously underwritten the event for the past two years.

100% of the proceeds from Photo17 benefit STORIES: The AIDS Monumentand the Foundation for The AIDS Monument. The foundation is in the final phase of a $5 million fundraising campaign to build The AIDS Monument designed by Daniel Tobin of the Urban Art Projects which will be in West Hollywood Park.

The auction will feature live and silent auctions of extraordinary photographs from collectors and galleries. Past participants include Julius Shulman, Brad Elterman, Jack Pierson, Jeff Wall, Firooz Zahedi, Norman Seef, Bruce Weber, Ellen Von Unwerth, Pamela Hanson, Antonio Lopez, Herb Ritts, Greg Gorman, Catherine Opie, Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper, Kihende Wiley, John Divola, William Wegman, Karen Kuehn and many more. Photo17 will include 80 silent lots and 20 live lots, with bidding available around the world via Paddle8 on line bidding.

Highlights of this year's auction include one-of-a-kind photos of Jessica Lange taken by Antonio Lopez. The photos, taken in Paris in 1978, are part of the noted fashion illustrator's estate collection, and are not available for purchase -- but have been entrusted to the Foundation for the AIDS Monument in Antonio's memory. This year's auction will also feature extraordinary images of Sly Stone, Debbie Harry and Andy Warhol by Norman Seef, including those noted here. The Herb Ritts Foundation has also donated rare, signed Herb Ritts photographs.

Since 2015, over $500,000 has been raised from the PHOTO events hosted by Milk Studios. The event, managed by an all-volunteer committee, has an expected attendance of 400 people and will include a preview cocktail reception with food provided by Love Catering and produced by Bryan Rabin, Inc. In a short two years, the PHOTO events for the Monument have become the premiere photo auction in Los Angeles for AIDS related causes. Many noted young photographers will also have images included in this year's auction. Committee members include: Bobby Heller (OPUS), Willie Maldonado (Milk Studios), Laura Watts (Honor Fraser), Pat Lanza(Annenberg Center for Photography), Bianca Chen (JF Chen), Lane and Linda Janger, Paris Chong (Leica Gallery), Michael Shulman (Shulman Foundation), Claudia Bartlett-James (Photo LA) Charles Hannah (Norman Seef Studios), Maureen Keveany, (Milk Studios), Brian Ferrick, Chris Davies (Fabrik Media), and Pete Franciosa (United Talent Agency), Jennifer Pinto, Michael Ferrera (FAM Executive Director) and John Gile.

Major donors to the Monument Foundation include Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Visit West Hollywood, The Guess Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation, MAC AIDS Fund, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and CAA partners Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane.

Cocktail reception hosted by Milk Studios.

Who You May Spot: Rufus Wainwright

Hint For The Average Socialite: Tickets Available for sale. 100% of the net proceeds benefit the Foundation for the AIDS Monument - www.aidsmonument.org

What's Trending: @Photo17auction #PHOTO17 @TheAIDSMonument #AIDS