In celebration of its 40th anniversary year, Tom of Finland Foundation is presenting the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival 2024 – Art Speaks Through Us, sponsored by Diesel. The Festival in Los Angeles will take place November 29th – December 1st THE TOM OF FINLAND ART & CULTURE FESTIVAL RETURNS TO LOS ANGELES and, for the first time, is being held concurrently with CLAW’s Leather Thanksgiving celebration.
“At the milestone of our 40th anniversary, the Foundation is more focused than ever on extending Tom of Finland’s legacy by advocating for the creative freedoms of LGBTQ+ artists everywhere,” said Edward Cella, Tom of Finland Foundation Chief Executive Officer.
The world’s largest erotic art fair, the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival will take over the Hotel Indigo for its latest stop in Los Angeles. Over 30 artists, galleries and vendors will present their offerings within a socially-friendly setting to socialize as well as buy and sell works of art, design objects, books, and other specialty items.
The Festival will be open to the public Friday, November 29th from 11:00am-8:00pm, Saturday, November 30th from 10:00am-6:00pm, and Sunday, December 1st from 11:00am-5:00pm at the Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown (899 Francisco St 90017).
“This year’s Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival is lining up to be uniquely special in that we are teaming up with CLAW to offer the public more diversity in the social activities being held under one big tent at the Hotel Indigo,” said Tom of Finland Foundation President & Cofounder Durk Dehner.
Attendees of the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival Los Angeles will have access to a variety of programming from both Tom of Finland Foundation and CLAW with their Festival tickets and weekend passes.
Kicking off the weekend on Friday, ty dehner will present Ropedweb at 25: A Retrospective about the influential publication; Knot Your Daddy will lead a Rope Bondage Demo; Foundation CEO Edward Cella and CLAW President & Cofounder Bob Miller will offer opening remarks plus a tribute to various LGBTQ+ organizations; German artist Rinaldo Hopf will unveil his Sunset Boulevard mural, which was inspired by his time in Los Angeles; Mark Timothy Hayward, Crystal Claire, and Ruben Esparza will present Sticky Pages: Inside Stroke Magazine; and William E. Jones will provide a reading from I Didn’t See It Coming followed by his discussion with Jarett Kobek.
Saturday will include a Life Drawing Session lead by Miguel Angel Reyes; a sneak peek of the feature-length documentary House of Leather, followed by a panel with its participants, director Jamison Rockmore, Foundation Creative Director Richard Villani, and curator Tucker Neel; Dave Watt will provide an engaging and interactive Flogging Demo; and former Foundation Artist-in-Residence Oat Montien will offer an erotic Shibari Performance.
Closing out the Festival on Sunday will be Scene Dynamics: Some Nuts and Bolts to Chew and Screw by Guy Baldwin; a special fundraising brunch for TOM’s Legacy Council featuring beverages by Tom of Finland Organic Vodka; a talk with Dian Hanson on Taschen and the Legacy of Tom of Finland with Foundation Creative Director Richard Villani; remarks from Consul General of Finland Okko-Pekka Salmimies; the Foundation awards ceremony highlighting winners from the Tom of Finland Emerging Artist Competition and other honorees like Artist Hall of Fame-winner Holly Johnson and Dedication Award-winner Jim Neuman; the Festival keynote address Paul Mpagi Sepuya: From the Studio; and Linda Simpson’s The Drag Explosion.
“We are excited to be back for another Festival and a new venue celebrating our 40th Anniversary,” said Festival Lead and Foundation Creative Director Richard Villani. “Each year we work to change and grow the experience for the artists and attendees.”
Exhibitors at this year’s Festival include Mr Jon, Adam Dalton Blake, Nicholas Fadely, Apaulo Hart, Ali Samantha, Pietro Spirito, Patrick Mizumoto, Peter Schutes Publishing, David Kordansky Gallery, Rubén Esparza, MisterOsborne, Jacob Cruz, Nooners Books, Rinaldo Hopf, Diego De León, Art of Douglas, Matthew Hetznecker, DICKSCOVERIES, Mascular Magazine, Gay Dude Sketches and Heavens Gayt, Nora Rachel, Hector Silva, Marc DeBauch, DIS.PATER, Mattazine Society, Sal Salandra, Fausto Berlin, Michael Espinoza, Ed Firth, Carlos Enfedaque, Sung Hwan Bobby Park, and Oat Montien.
“We’ve had a close relationship with Tom of Finland Foundation for many years, and they are one of the beneficiaries of CLAW”, said CLAW President Bob Miller. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring these two great events together in the same place. For the attendees – it’s a lot to be thankful for.”
Finally, the Foundation will offer an exclusive limited edition fine art print commissioned especially for its 40th anniversary. The print is limited to an edition of 40 pieces, and they will be available for purchase at the Festival.
A special room rate at the Hotel Indigo is available to attendees of both CLAW and the Tom of Finland Art & Culture Festival and can be booked through the CLAW LA Leather Getaway website.
For more information and ticketing, please go to: https://tomoffinland.org/artfair.
