Art collectors and philanthropists Howard E. Rachofsky and Thomas Hartland-Mackie announce the formation of The Warehouse Dallas Art Foundation (“The Warehouse”), a jointly operated non-profit art foundation in Dallas. The core of the foundation’s mission is to educate the public by creating exposure to the perspectives of new curatorial voices and exhibitions that prioritize experimentation and exploration.
This new charitable foundation firmly establishes a legacy for Howard and Cindy Rachofsky’s long-standing commitment to educating the public through providing access to their internationally renowned art collection. The addition of Thomas Hartland-Mackie, a leader of the next generation of prolific art collectors, creates a dynamic, multi-generational partnership that ensures the educational mission of the foundation will continue for posterity.
Howard E. Rachofsky said,
Cindy and I have spent our lives collecting art and taking opportunities to learn more about the world through this shared passion of ours, consistently loaning artworks to numerous international museums and mounting our own exhibitions here in Dallas. We are fervent believers that as custodians of these important objects, it is our duty to create opportunities for members of the public to be exposed to these great artists of our time. Partnering with Thomas and setting up this foundation together ensures that our educational mission of fostering greater understanding through art will continue for generations to come.
Thomas Hartland-Mackie said,
I am dedicated to creating a lasting dialogue with Howard through The Warehouse. Howard and I have a shared goal of supporting contemporary art and artists through preservation, education, and understanding. Howard’s strong legacy of promoting the arts in Dallas and on a global scale will be instrumental to our future initiatives. We are excited to share our program with the international arts community.
Rachofsky and Hartland-Mackie have known each other for years and have at times found inspiration and guidance in one another’s approach to collecting. Through this intergenerational collaboration, The Warehouse will significantly expand the diversity of art that can be drawn from for the creation of impactful and educational exhibitions. Howard and Cindy have been collecting art for over forty years and currently have approximately one thousand objects; Thomas and the Hartland-Mackie family have been actively collecting for over a decade and have acquired over three hundred works during that time. As the collections overlap and diverge in inspiration, content, and style, The Warehouse benefits from both collections being equally available to draw from to produce insightful and thought-provoking exhibitions, as well as from select loans from other private and public collections.
The Warehouse will be a laboratory for creative experimentation and invention in the contemporary art space. Curators and artists alike will be provided the freedom to workshop ideas, present questions to the public, and initiate new discoveries through exhibitions curated from both collections, as well as through shows featuring artists and works outside of either collection. An emphasis will be placed on younger and historically overlooked artists. Through this dynamic exhibition program, The Warehouse will serve as a site for dialogue on both a local and international scale, fostering education and public engagement.
The foundation’s first exhibition will open to the public in February of 2025, featuring paintings, sculptures, and installation-based works that represent a conversation between two collections, individuals, and generations. Drawing from Rachofsky’s and Hartland-Mackie’s family collections, the inaugural showcase will serve as a testament to the foundation’s intergenerational model, highlighting the flexibility of its collaborative, responsive, and playful approach.
Embracing this sense of “curatorial freedom,” each gallery within the space will be anchored by a specific yet permeable theme, with works juxtaposed to offer fresh perspectives on the artists and their creations: in some instances, works by the same artists from different bodies of work will be placed in conversation, while in others, entirely different practices will be brought into dialogue. The exhibition will foreground the potent and inventive interplay that will serve as a guiding principle for future programming at The Warehouse.
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