An April 17 auction to benefit the Critical Art Ensemble Defense Fund
has attracted donations from some of the biggest names in the
contemporary art world, including Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman,
Alexis Rockman, Rubén Ortiz Torres, Hans Haacke, Kiki Smith, Chris
Burden, and a great many others.

Organizers of the auction at Paula Cooper Gallery in New York expect
to raise at least a six-figure sum to help Steven Kurtz and Robert
Ferrell defend themselves against politically-motivated federal
charges of "mail fraud" and "wire fraud." If convicted, Kurtz, a
founding member of the Critical Art Ensemble (CAE) and Professor of
Art at the University of Buffalo, and Ferrell, a Professor of Human
Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh, could face up to 20 years
in prison. (See  http://caedefensefund.org for full details.)

The cost of the May 2004 raid on Kurtz's home, and his subsequent
prosecution, is in the millions of public dollars, according to
independent estimates. The federal authorities now admit that Kurtz
and Ferrell, who have collaborated on widely shown artworks about
biotechnology, have never posed any danger to public health - yet
they continue to waste vast sums of public money prosecuting the
case. Meanwhile, the bills for Kurtz and Ferrell's defense keep
growing as well.

Since June 2004 there have been numerous public events to support the
CAE Defense Fund in the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Latin America and
Australia. These efforts, as well as numerous individual
contributions, have met the mounting defense costs thus far. But as
the case moves to trial, Kurtz and Ferrell's expenses are expected to
increase dramatically, and more fundraisers and donations will be
needed.

The April 17 auction organizers hope the auction will serve as a spur
for people worldwide to organize new benefit events and to contribute
to the fund. Please visit  http://caedefensefund.org/ for details on
how you can help publicize the auction, organize your own event,
donate, or otherwise help support Kurtz and Ferrell in this
exceedingly important case.


Auction details: Sunday, April 17, 2005 (2:00-5:00 PM viewing, 5:00-7:00 PM
auction), at the Paula Cooper Gallery, 534 West 21st Street, New York

Artists who have donated work for the auction: Acconci Studio, Dennis
Adams, The Atlas Group, Nayland Blake, Mel Bochner, Chris Burden,
Paul Chan, Jeremy Deller, Mark Dion, Sam Durant, Tony Feher, Andrea
Fraser, Joseph Grigely, Hans Haacke, Ann Hamilton, Rachel Harrison,
Mike Kelley, William Pope L., Louise Lawler, Zoe Leonard, Sol LeWitt,
Glenn Ligon, Sharon Lockhart, Allan McCollum, Julie Mehretu, Donald
Moffett, Dave Muller, Vic Muniz, Yoshitomo Nara, Cathy Opie, Rubén
Ortiz Torres, Laura Owens, David Reed, Alexis Rockman, Martha Rosler,
Christy Rupp, Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, Amy Sillman, Lorna
Simpson, Kiki Smith, Janaina Tschape and many more.

The Benefit is sponsored by the National Association of Artists'
Organizations (NAAO) and Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center
(Buffalo), and is supported by galleries across the US.

Please visit  http://caedefensefund.org/ for more information. Press
inquiries may be directed to mailto: media@caedefensefund.org.