Thanks to all who attended our first Gravity Racers Benefit Party & Art Auction on April 30, 2022! Check out photos from the event here.

We are delighted to announce that this year’s Benefit will be back in person on April 30, 2022, our first since 2019! We can’t wait to welcome our community back to the gallery.

This year we’re ‘changing gears’ with a new benefit theme: Gravity Racers, an ode to tournaments held in the 1990s and 2000s by Brooklyn’s Four Walls and Pierogi galleries that brought the community together for a creative and fun event. At Smack Mellon, guests will bet on hand-built, radically customized 7” pinewood derby-style cars that will compete on an indoor gravity-slide raceway to win artwork included with a ticket!

Similar to the Kentucky Derby benefits we’ve held in the past, guests bet on the race to determine the order in which they select an artwork included with a ticket; only this time, the race is held here at Smack Mellon! The car elimination races start at 3:30PM, and guests should arrive to place bets on the final race by 5PM. To determine the order of artwork selection, the names of those who bet on the winning car are drawn first, then the second place, then a group of semi-finalists, and then a group of quarter-finalists, until all the tickets are drawn. 

Guests can also bid on artworks in the silent auction before and during the event. Bidding closes at 6:30PM during the Benefit on April 30.

If you cannot attend but would like to support the event, please consider making a donation to Smack Mellon below.

Tickets and Sponsorship Packages

A $300 ticket admits two guests to the party and includes one original artwork. The order for selecting an artwork is determined by betting your ticket on a car in the race. A ticket does not include a car kit to be entered in the race.

The Sponsorship Packages below include a car kit to be customized and entered into the race. You can customize your car or Smack Mellon will select an artist from our community to customize your car for you.

Since we only have a limited number of cars, be sure to get your car kit now before they sell out! The basic car is simple to build from the standard kit, but the creative possibilities for customizing the car are endless!

Silver Track Level Ticket and Car Bundle: $500

• 1 ticket – admits 2 people and includes 1 artwork.
• Includes 1 car kit customizable by you or an artist 
• Up to 1 additional car kit may be purchased for an additional $200

Gold Track Level Ticket and Car Bundle: $1,400

• 4 tickets – each ticket admits 2 people and includes 1 artwork
• Includes 2 car kits customizable by you or an artist
• Up to 2 additional car kits may be purchased for an additional $200 each

Completed car creations should be delivered to Smack Mellon by April 28. Instructions for obtaining a car kit and creating a car eligible for the race will be provided by email. 

Party Timeline

3PM: Doors open 

3:30–4:30PM: Elimination races; Finalists are announced and the betting window opens.

Ticket holders must arrive by 5PM to bet on one of the finalists and make their top 30 artwork selections.

5:30PM: Betting window closes

5:45PM: Final races

Once the results of the race are determined, the drawing of the tickets for artwork selection begins. The party goes until the last ticket is drawn, around 8PM.

Party Details

Dress Code: Don’t forget to wear your best Racing Fancy!

MC: Pat Oleszko

Catering: Pixie Scout

In memory of Gary Bachmann, who organized the original Gravity Racers. Special thanks to Joe Amrhein and Susan Swenson for allowing us to carry on the Pierogi Gallery tradition of the artist-made Gravity Racers event.

Please note: Except for when eating and drinking, masks must be worn inside Smack Mellon’s galleries during the Benefit. Guests must show proof of full vaccination and an ID for entry. Visit our COVID Courtesy Code for more information.

Funds raised at the Benefit will support Smack Mellon’s mission to serve a diverse group of emerging, under-recognized mid-career, and women artists through our exhibitions, Artist Studio residency program, and Art Ready mentorship program for high school students.