Black Lives to the Front artwork to be auctioned in support of USTA Foundation

Victoria Chiesa /

Friday, 11 September 2020 10:31 AM EDT

After being housed in front-row seats inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for the past two weeks, the 2020 US Open's Black Lives to the Front art exhibition is next headed towards a good cause.

As a part of the Be Open campaign, 18 painted works on canvas by Black and BIPOC artists were installed on the grandest stage in tennis to shine a spotlight on the artists' talent, as well as the USTA's commitment to diversity and inclusivity.

Running through Friday, Sept. 25, these pieces are up for charitable auction benefiting both the USTA Foundation's "Rally to Rebuild" campaign and each artist's charity of choice.

In June, the USTA Foundation launched "Rally to Rebuild" in an effort to curb the financial strain felt by its flagship tennis and education programs, the National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This network, co-founded by Arthur Ashe in 1969, consists of more than 250 chapters that provide invaluable tennis, tutoring and development services for more than 160,000 under-resourced youth annually around the country. For much of this year, these organizations were forced to cancel or suspend programming, and also were unable to hold traditional fundraising events.

To aid these pillars of the community, and help secure the future of the next generation of tennis players, the USTA Foundation pledged to raise $5 million, with a $1 million match by the USTA Foundation board.

That goal was exceeded thanks to the work done throughout summer’s campaign, and funds have been raised throughout this year's Open through several sponsor activations, including Mercedes-Benz USA and Emirates.