Beloved Furniture Boutique and Renowned Art Gallery Team Up on Month of Giving to Help a Hurting Houston Grand Opera
BeDesign and Art of the World Gallery Make a Difference Together
BY Shelby Hodge // 10.18.20Art of the World Gallery's Mauricio Vallejo and Liliana Molina join forces with BeDesign's Adrian Dueñas and Marcelo Saenz to support Houston Grand Opera. They are photographed in the BeDesign studio with artwork from the gallery. (Photo by Jack Thompson)
It can sometimes be surprising when need arises who steps in to offer assistance. Case in point: One of the most interesting partnerships to aid a segment of the performing arts community has BeDesign and Art of the World Gallery stepping up together to help. From October 15 to November 15, for every sale at those spots in which the purchaser mentions Houston Grand Opera, a percentage of that sale will go to the company.
In addition, at the end of the month the high-end contemporary furniture boutique and the renowned art gallery will combine resources to enhance the total given to HGO.
BeDesign co-owner and CEO Adrian Dueñas and co-owner and lead designer Marcelo Saenz had been voicing their concerns for the performing arts from the early days of the COVID-19. Avid opera fans, they were disappointed that HGO‘s last opera of the season and one of their favorites, Carmen, was canceled due to the pandemic. As many of us have, they began contemplating the financial distress that the virus was causing throughout the economy and ways to assist.
“Seeing the performing arts community under stress was a sure distraction for us, as we knew how hard everyone had been impacted by the pandemic,” Dueñas tells PaperCity. “We knew we wanted to help, to be hands on. We knew we must find a way to make it possible and with many options on the table, we asked our partners for possible collaborations until we found the perfect one.”
With a mutual passion for Houston Grand Opera, the BeDesign duo and Art of the World Gallery co-owners Mauricio Vallejo and Liliana Molina agreed on the project that received the necessary HGO blessing.
“It was the perfect pairing— exquisite art and exclusive Italian furniture,” Dueñas says.
In fact, BeDesign carries 24 luxury European brands including B&B Italia, Flexform, Zanotta, Paola Lenti, and Molteni&C, equaling some $4 million in the showroom alone.
Art of the World Gallery is known for its stable of masters, mid-career and cutting-edge artists from Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. These include Fernando Botero, Julio Larraz, Robert Indiana, Mr. Brainwash, Sophia Vari, Igor Mitoraj, Jorge Jiménez Deredia, Cristobal Toral, Jesús Moroles and more.