Civic Actions
Civic Actions records José Parlá’s philanthropic and civic work; artworks given to museums and to benefit auctions, mentorships, and service to young artists, arts organizations, and civic projects made with fellow artists.
2009 STAGES, Lance Armstrong Foundation
Contributed a work to STAGES, the Lance Armstrong Foundation benefit exhibition presented by Nike at Galerie Perrotin, Paris, and Deitch Projects, New York, with all proceeds to the fight against cancer.
2010 Benefit for the People of Haiti
Joined The Barnstormers in a benefit for the people of Haiti at Sucré, Brooklyn, after the January 2010 earthquake.
2010 Idea for the Here and Now
Contributed a signed screenprint to Idea for the Here and Now, a benefit print exhibition at Fountain Art Fair, New York, supporting Transformazium, an arts center in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
2010 REDU Homeroom
Donated artwork to Homeroom, the REDU exhibition at Reed Space, New York, with all profits to public school classroom projects through DonorsChoose.org.
2011 Converse (PRODUCT)RED
Designed the José Parlá for Converse (PRODUCT)RED Chuck Taylor All Star, released on World AIDS Day, with a share of every pair sold going to The Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.
2011 I Love Japan More Than Ever
Joined the artists of I Love Japan More Than Ever, a silent auction and film screening in Brooklyn for earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan.
2011 RxArt Gala
Contributed an original work to the RxArt Gala silent auction, supporting art in children’s hospitals.
2013 BAMart Silent Auction
Contributed a work to the ninth annual BAMart Silent Auction, the benefit for the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
2013 Brooklyn Artists Ball
One of the Brooklyn artists invited to transform the dinner tables of the Brooklyn Artists Ball, the Brooklyn Museum’s annual benefit.
2014 Caldera Arts, Signature Roots
Led Signature Roots, a two-day painting and writing workshop with young people from Caldera Arts at the Portland Art Museum.
2014 BAM Art Auction
Contributed a work to the tenth annual BAM Art Auction, benefiting the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
2015 No Longer Empty
Contributed a work to the No Longer Empty five-year anniversary benefit auction, supporting the public art nonprofit.
2016 MTV RE:DEFINE
Contributed a work to MTV RE:DEFINE, the benefit auction for Dallas Contemporary and the MTV Staying Alive Foundation’s HIV prevention programs.
2016 RxArt, Incarnation Children’s Center
Created wall coverings and a rooftop mural for Incarnation Children’s Center in New York, a residence for children living with HIV, in a project with RxArt.
2016 YoungArts Master Teacher
Served as a Master Teacher with YoungArts, the National YoungArts Foundation, mentoring young artists.
Rolls-Royce Art Programme announcement
2017 Pioneer Works Village Fête
Donated a mono-transfer print to the Village Fête art auction, the annual benefit for Pioneer Works, Brooklyn.
2017 RxArt PARTY
Contributed a mono-transfer work to the RxArt PARTY benefit sale in New York.
2017 Daniel Arsham Fellowship
Served on the selection jury of the inaugural Daniel Arsham Fellowship for YoungArts alumni.
2017 Take It to the Streets, HOCA Foundation
Contributed Mono-Transfer Untitled (2017) to Take It to the Streets at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, an auction benefiting the HOCA Foundation’s free exhibitions and education programs.
2018 Unframed, ACRIA
Contributed the painting Sun (2018), through Lisson Gallery, to Unframed, a benefit auction for the ACRIA Artists Ending AIDS Fund at GMHC.
2018 For Freedoms 50 State Initiative
Created Igualdad en Paz (Equality in Peace) as a billboard for For Freedoms’ 50 State Initiative.
2018 Neuberger Museum of Art
With Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery, gave No Space / Non Place #1 (2017) to the permanent collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College.
2019 Bronx Museum Gala, Art for Justice
Contributed a mono-transfer work to Art for Justice, the Bronx Museum of the Arts gala benefit auction.
2019 BxMA Ball
Performed a DJ set at the Bronx Museum of the Arts’ BxMA Ball afterparty.
2019 HOCA Foundation Benefit Auction
Donated Friends Around Town and Reason Random Season (both 2019) to the HOCA Foundation benefit auction at Phillips, Hong Kong.
Phillips, HOCA Foundation benefit auction
2020 We All Rise
Contributed a drawing to We All Rise, the Library Street Collective coloring book packaged with free meals for Detroit public school students during the pandemic closures.
2020 Wide Awakes
Among the artists who formed the Wide Awakes, an open network for creative civic engagement; marched with them through Manhattan on October 3 and made the Wide Awakes Flag with Coby Kennedy.
2020 Judd Foundation, Marfa
Igualdad en Paz returned as a poster in the windows of Judd Foundation in Marfa, Texas, for For Freedoms’ 2020 campaign for civic participation, with an Artists and Politics conversation alongside Carlos Motta on Marfa Public Radio.
2020 Artists In Focus Fund
Contributed a lens-based print to the Artists In Focus Fund, Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York’s emergency print sale for lens-based artists during the pandemic.
2021 YoungArts, Together
Contributed original artwork to Together, an animated short film created to support YoungArts and artists across the country.
2021 YoungArts Social Sculpture
Served as a creative mentor for Social Sculpture, YoungArts’ two-year initiative pairing award winners with established artists.
YoungArts 2021 programming announcement
2021 Tang Teaching Museum
The Wide Awakes Flag (2020), made with Coby Kennedy, was shown in Enlivened, Aware, Awake: Symbols of Activism at the Tang Teaching Museum, Skidmore College.
2022 YoungArts New York Gala
Served as an honorary co-chair, with Agnes Gund and Vanessa Williams, of the YoungArts New York Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
2022 Pratt>FORWARD
Served as a core mentor for Pratt>FORWARD, a program of Pratt Institute and Newlab at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
2022 Baxter St Artists In Focus
With Rey Parlá, contributed Order & Chaos: Renegade Shadows (2021) to the Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York Artists In Focus benefit auction.
Baxter St, Artists In Focus 2022
2022 Brooklyn Community Housing & Services
With Rey Parlá, donated Illusionistic Interferences (2022) to the Brooklyn Community Housing & Services gala at BAM, supporting housing for formerly homeless New Yorkers.
2022 Free Arts NYC
Contributed In Honor of FUTURADOSMIL (2022) to the Free Arts NYC benefit auction, supporting arts mentoring for young people.
Artsy, Free Arts NYC Benefit Auction 2022
2022 National Arts Awards
Featured artist of the National Arts Awards of Americans for the Arts, designing the evening’s visual environment at Guastavino’s, New York.
2023 Baxter St Artists In Focus
With Rey Parlá, contributed Tribe Tales & The Mystic Writing Pad (2023) to the Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York Artists In Focus benefit auction.
Baxter St, Artists In Focus 2023
2024 Gordon Parks Foundation, Art x Activism
Recorded conversations with Jammie Holmes and Melanee C. Harvey, and with Ruben Toledo, for Art x Activism, the Gordon Parks Foundation’s free education video series.
2024 Baxter St, Correspondence
With Rey Parlá, contributed a work to Correspondence: circulation, collaboration, community, Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York’s open-call community exhibition.
2024 Tribeca Artist Awards
Contributed Concentric Harmony (2024) to the Tribeca Festival and CHANEL Artist Awards program, given for Best International Narrative Feature.
Tribeca and CHANEL announcement
2024 ART FOR CHANGE
Created La Habana Sunset, a limited-edition print with ART FOR CHANGE in support of the Brooklyn Museum.
2024 Hospital Rooms
Donated Rorschach Polyrhythm (2023) to the Hospital Rooms charity auction at Hauser & Wirth London, supporting art projects in NHS mental health hospitals.
Hauser & Wirth, Hospital Rooms 2024
2024 ARTWALK NY
Contributed Soul’s Network (2024) to ARTWALK NY, the benefit auction for the Coalition for the Homeless.
Coalition for the Homeless, ARTWALK NY 2024
2024 YoungArts Board
Serves on the board of YoungArts.
2025 Friends of Caritas Cubana
Donated Humanidad (2025) to the Friends of Caritas Cubana benefit auction, supporting humanitarian aid in Cuba.
2025 MacDowell Medal Selection Panel
Served on the selection panel for the 65th Edward MacDowell Medal.
2025 Baxter St Artists In Focus
Contributed South Beach Neon Nights to the Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York Artists In Focus benefit auction.
Baxter St, Artists In Focus 2025
2025 ARTWALK NY
Created an original plate for the ARTWALK NY silent auction, benefiting the Coalition for the Homeless.
Coalition for the Homeless, ARTWALK NY 2025
2026 Friends of Caritas Cuba
Donated the painting Hacia La Luz (2026) to a benefit for Friends of Caritas Cuba in Miami, with proceeds to humanitarian aid in Cuba.