Amplify

March 30, 2024

MLB’s Randy Johnson Will Attend The ARTrageous Gala and Donate Photographs for Fundraising Auction

Randy Johnson: Storytelling with Photographs is on view at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts through April 28. Photo: Brian Passey

For the past month, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has seen scores of baseball fans make an extra Spring Training stop … in an art gallery.

It might not be an expected visit for a typical Cactus League itinerary that includes baseball stadiums across the Valley of the Sun. But it’s also not typical to find an exhibiting artist who is also a World Series MVP and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Randy Johnson is that kind of artist.

Reed Glick, principal at R Entertainment; Derrick Hall, president and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Dr. Gerd Wuestemann, president and CEO of Scottsdale Arts; Scottsdale Mayor David D. Ortega; and Baseball Hall of Famer Randy Johnson pose together at the opening reception for Storytelling with Photographs on Feb. 23, 2024. Photo: Chris Loomis.

Storytelling with Photographs, a collection of Johnson’s photography from multiple trips to Africa, opened in February in the Center Space gallery at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Nearly 400 people attended an opening reception on Feb. 23, and more than 2,000 people have viewed the exhibition in just the first five weeks of the exhibition.

Randy Johnson gestures toward a photograph of a lion that he is donating to the silent auction for Scottsdale Arts’ The ARTrageous Gala on April 6. Anyone can bid in the silent auction. Photo: Chris Loomis.

Now, Johnson has announced that he will be donating two photographs from the exhibition to be auctioned off at Scottsdale Arts’ primary annual fundraiser, The ARTrageous Gala on Saturday, April 6. Johnson will also attend the gala, which has a theme this year of Cosmic Crescendo to honor the upcoming solar eclipse. The gala begins at 6:30 p.m. at Scottsdale Civic Center, and tickets are still available, just click here.

This photograph by Randy Johnson, Free Ride, will be part of the live auction at Scottsdale Arts’ The ARTrageous Gala on April 6. Photo: Randy Johnson

While anyone can bid in the silent auction, you have to attend the gala on April 6 to bid in the live auction, which features one of the favorite photographs from Johnson’s exhibition, a profile shot of a majestic elephant in Kenya’s Amboseli National Park with bird perched atop its head. Johnson has titled it Free Ride. And it’s just one of the exciting items and experiences available at the live auction.

Randy Johnson records an interview for CBS Saturday Morning from the Center Space gallery at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Photo: Brian Passey.

The exhibition has also garnered a large amount of media attention, including high-profile interviews for GQ (article coming soon), USA Today, Sportico, and CBS Saturday Morning (photo above), which just aired earlier today.

Other interviews include:

Randy Johnson talks about his photography with host Ted Simons on Arizona PBS’s Arizona Horizon in February. Photo: Brian Passey.

Back to Amplify home.
CONNECTIONS: Spark |  Immerse | Inspire