How do you top the event of not just the year, but of the last 25 years?
Bring back the event planner who helped the first iteration become Dallas’ Met Gala, find a passionate new host with a fabulous space and invite Nicole Kidman. Then, you’ve got a start.
Dallas’ annual Two x Two gala came to an end last year. After a quarter-century of being hosted at the home of art collectors Howard and Cindy Rachofsky, it was time for the benefit and art auction to reinvent itself.
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A collaboration between amfAR, an international AIDS research and advocacy organization, and the Dallas Museum of Art, Two x Two helped raise more than $65 million to support amfAR’s mission over its lifetime. Now amfAR will host its own gala at the home of United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby and his wife, Kathleen.
“We’re going to throw a good party for a good cause,” said Kyle Clifford, chief development officer and amfAR CEO-in-waiting.
“The nature of the event is changing,” he said. “The actual primary purpose of the event will get stronger over time, in that we’re continuing to get the support from our existing Dallas donor base, but also we have a chance now to build on that and bring new people into the amfAR fold.”
The event will take place Oct. 4 on a two-acre plot of land outside the Kirby’s house, with a get-in price of $2,500 and tables costing up to $100,000. Kidman is confirmed to attend and present Texan TV extraordinaire Taylor Sheridan with amfAR’s Award of Inspiration. Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki will present Gene and Jerry Jones with the Philanthropic Leadership Award. Others planning to attend include Golden Globe winner Teri Hatcher and music legend Diana Ross, who will perform at the event.
Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman arrive during the red carpet of 60th Academy of Country Music Awards on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at The Star in Frisco.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
“What amfAR has been able to do with this inaugural event in Dallas is, I think, pretty unprecedented in the Dallas community,” said Kathleen Kirby. “It’s pretty wild. I don’t think I’ve wrapped my head around yet that one of the most famous actresses in the world is coming into the house.”
Kirby said she was approached last year by a friend involved with amfAR to host. She and her husband, who have been in Dallas for 12 years, never attended Two x Two, but they have long been involved in philanthropy and were inspired by amfAR’s “easy to support” mission.
AmfAR itself handles most of the party planning, with the help of event designer Todd Fiscus. Kirby has focused on connecting the organization with her and her husband’s network of friends and business associates. She said she’s also talked to Cindy Rachofsky, who has been an “inspiration” and provided guidance about taking on the hostess role.
“When you’re doing work for something that you truly believe in and when you’re spreading the word, it’s really easy,” she said. “I’m excited to be the hostess and to be the venue and spread the word and just be a cheerleader for the organization. … Why not, when you have the space and know you enjoy and believe in the organization’s efforts?”
Elizabeth Taylor sprays some of her new men’s cologne called “Passion” on Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at a launching party for the new fragrance at the Stadium Club at Texas Stadium in September, 1989.
Leslie White / Staff photographer
AmfAR was founded in 1985 by actress Elizabeth Taylor and medical researcher Mathilde Krim when they combined Taylor’s foundation for HIV drug development with Krim’s foundation for AIDS advocacy. The private, nonpartisan nonprofit makes the bulk of its money through galas like the one in Dallas and has awarded more than 3,800 grants to researchers worldwide.
Clifford emphasized the entrepreneurial spirit of amfAR, which prioritizes innovative research across biomedical fields and is “comfortable with failure,” because big swings are how big steps are taken toward the ultimate goal of a cure for AIDS and HIV.
That’s part of why amfAR and its mission have resonated so much in Dallas, an equally entrepreneurial city. Two x Two was a cornerstone of amfAR’s fundraising efforts in the U.S., and the foundation sees the new gala as a way to grow its support in the region even further.
This year, “we wanted to create something different, and we want to be innovative,” Clifford said.
“Our biomedical research is innovative, but also we’re known for creating really unique experiences and being innovative when it comes to our events,” he said.
Fiscus, the lead event planner for all but the first of the Two x Two galas, is back to shepherd the amfAR gala. His company Todd Events has a team of 13 that has been working all year on everything from permitting and finding power vendors to creating the menu and decorating the venue.
In an effort to surprise and delight attendees, Fiscus kept details of the event close to the chest, but he hinted at a “contemporary Asian aesthetic” with big, silky panels and a healthy serving of drama, homing in on amfAR’s signature shade of red.
If Two x Two was “the best dinner party you ever got invited to,” the standalone amfAR gala is “a really fantastic participatory show,” Fiscus said.
Alan Cumming and Cindy Rachofsky at the 2018 gala for Two x Two for AIDS and Art, inside the geodesic dome on the front lawn of the Rachofsky house.
Alan Cumming and Cindy Rachofsky at the TWOxTWO for AIDS and Art event at the Rachofsky House on Saturday, October 27, 2018.
Photo by Kevin Tachman @kevintachman
Kevin Tachman / KEVIN TACHMAN
Howard Rachofsky, Thomas Hartland-Mackie, Oliver Barker. TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art is an annual contemporary art auction held in the Richard Meier-designed Rachofsky House in Dallas, benefiting two organizations, the Dallas Museum of Art and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. It was held Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.
Kevin Tachman / TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art
“It’s got a lot of theater, a lot of drama in it. It’s got more booms, pows, sizzles, wows,” he said. “We’re in a brand new tent concept and design, so it’s not going to feel the same. It’s going to look wildly different from the past.”
The challenge has been taking 25 years of history and spinning it into something new that still respects the existing legacy. Although bittersweet to say goodbye to Two x Two, Fiscus said nailing this event has been an exciting challenge.
“It has to be so good that it has long, long, long legs, right? You want it to be great for years to come. So you have a lot of proving yourself on the first job out,” he said. “It has to be the right aesthetic. It has to have great vibes. It has to have a killer host. It’s got to have camaraderie.
“There’s a Southern hospitality to having an event in Texas that’s different than doing a party in New York.”
The new gala comes at an important moment for AIDS and biomedical research. Widespread cuts to publicly funded medical research and the pause of the PEPFAR global aids treatment program by the Trump administration make private support from organizations like amfAR all the more critical.
A crowd gathers inside the Rachofsky house for the 2017 gala, Two x Two for AIDS and Art.
TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art is an annual contemporary art auction held in the Richard Meier-designed Rachofsky House in Dallas, benefiting two organizations, the Dallas Museum of Art and amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. It was held Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.
Kevin Tachman / TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art
It’s personal for Clifford, an HIV-positive gay man who credits medical advances funded by organizations like amfAR for his being alive today. He said he is proud of the work amfAR has done this year to help mitigate the impact of cuts and advocate for the reversal of certain policy decisions.
AmfAR has seen an increase in fundraising interest this year, Clifford said, a sentiment echoed by Kirby as she has worked on relationship building ahead of the gala. And the philanthropic spirit of Dallas has shone through with the community’s continued — and invigorated — support of amfAR’s mission, a testament to the deep connection between the organization and the city.
“When it started many, many years ago, I think it was a little bit harder for a Texas-based city to swallow an event or to accept an event that’s HIV- and AIDS-focused. It felt taboo a long time ago,” Fiscus said. “I think what I’ve enjoyed watching is the continued growth and acceptance of others, and even in our current climate, still seeing people like, ‘No, we’re going to be kind.’”
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