Each year for nine years, Art Conspiracy has held  a public auction of more than a hundred paintings the artists scrambled to create only the day before. KERA’s Jerome Weeks reports, now Art Conspiracy is up to something it’s calling ‘Wrecked.’

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In April, Art Conspiracy invited 40 artists to select the names of everyday items. They picked cards without knowing what was written on the other side. Erica Felichella, executive director of Art Conspiracy, explains:  “You might have gotten ‘wallpaper’ or ‘coat rack’ or ‘bar stool.’ Wrecked is all about deconstructing and reconstructing. So it’s taking what you would consider an everyday object and changing its interpretation.”

Erica Felichella says the 40 artists can do anything they want to the item they chose — anything to make it into an artwork that’ll be auctioned off this weekend.

For nine years, Art Conspiracy has used its popular, annual gathering of artists, art fans and musicians to raise money for small arts-related non-profits. These are art groups with a social cause — like Musical Angels, which provides piano lessons to children in hospitals. Or Preservation LINK, which teaches audio and visual media to students in South Dallas.

For its part, Wrecked raises money for that fall auction. Felichella says Wrecked is also a signal that Art Conspiracy will no longer be a once-a-year or even twice-a-year event: “The organization is going through an expansion, so we can serve our community through additional projects and programming.”

Wrecked will be held this Saturday at the events center, Life in Deep Ellum, and it’ll feature music from such bands as Dark Rooms and French 75.