“Affordable housing, sufficient food, and the chance to work for a living wage are fundamental rights in a civilized society.” This is the mission statement of The Coalition for the Homeless, a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 which advocates and provides services to New Yorkers facing homelessness, with the goal of ending it for good. The Coalition for the Homeless’ mission has been more urgent over the past few years than ever, as New York City faces many public health and economic challenges, making it even more difficult for low-income and homeless New Yorkers to get by. In response to this, in 2020, the Coalition started taking a different approach to fundraising and spreading awareness of their efforts.
Michelle Hellman, a board member of Coalition for the Homeless, co-founded the Artist Plate Project, which has raised almost $5 million over the past three years. The project works with world-renowned artists to create unique dinner plates, which then get sold at art fairs, like Frieze in New York, and online.
Art Advisor Jessica Chestman is a friend of Michelle Hellman and a regular at Frieze. “Many of my clients purchased them, and I myself have many,” Chestman said of the plates in a recent interview with Pieces with Purpose. Chestman praised how the project is not only a hugely successful philanthropic endeavor, but also “brings the idea of fine art into more people’s homes and makes it more accessible. Whether people are using the dishes as dishes or hanging them in groupings on the wall, art becomes a part of more people’s lives.”
To date, more than 98 artists have designed a plate for the Artist Plate Project, with 250 copies made of each design. Contributing artists include Andy Warhol, Virgil Abloh, Takashi Murikami, Keith Haring, and Judy Chicago. Each plate is sold for $250, a price that Hellman describes as more “affordable” in comparison to other pieces produced by many of the featured artists. Plates can be purchased separately or as a full set, from all artists who worked on that specific drop. Each plate provides over 100 homeless New Yorkers with meals.
The project was one of the last that Virgil Abloh, the founder of Off-White and creative director of Louis Vuitton menswear, worked on. He designed his plate for the 2023 drop only months before he sadly passed away. Now, Abloh’s plate is completely sold out.
The Artist Plate Project allows people to purchase art for their home while also participating in making an impact in our world. As a plate catches someone’s eye and appeals to them, whether it is due to the artist who designed it or the art shown on it, a larger incentive is created to donate and make a difference. “I think the charitable cause made people feel good about their purchases, and some even purchased an extra few with that in mind,” Chestman said. There is even an option to become a sponsor of the project, which guarantees access to the most sought-after plates, but more importantly, increases the donation to the Coalition, and ultimately, the impact on the city’s homeless population.
Chestman explained how other organizations also create limited edition items with artists. The Skate Room is one that she really loves. Similar to the Artist Plate Project, they “tap the world’s most well known artists to create skateboards that are hung on the wall as art,” and 10 percent of their revenue goes to social causes. “I also work with a company called Prospect NY, who actually produced the plates for the Artist Plate Project, also creates limited edition items for various projects,” Chestman said. “It’s not quite the same as the Artist Plate Project or the Skate Room, but it’s another way to bring art to more people while supporting a great cause. I think that’s the overarching theme here.”
The theme is successful in more than one way. The entire project is about the value that the artist’s create and in turn, the ability to introduce art to a wider range of people as well as giving back to those in need. And that’s what we’re trying to do here at Pieces with Purpose: use intrinsic value of art and design to benefit a higher good.