New York,
New York,
October 7th,
2008:
,
AMERICANS
FOR THE ARTS
(AFTA) -
the nation’s
leading
nonprofit
organization
for
advancing
the arts,
held its
Annual
National
Arts Awards
Ceremony at
Cipriani in
New York
City which
raised over
$650,000
for AFTA.
The event
was chaired
with
consummate
style by
Mrs. Maria
Bell,
who greeted
guests and
honorees
with her
Chairman’s
Committee
members
Isabella &
Theodor
Dalenson,
Sheila C.
Johnson,
and Julie
& Edward
Minskoff
at the
opening
cocktail
reception at
6.30. Guests
then took
their seats
for dinner
and were
welcomed by
President
and CEO
of AFTA,
Robert Lynch.
The ceremony
began as
Don Randel
presented
Joan W.
Harris
the award
for
Philanthropy
in the Arts;
John
Pappajohn
honored
J. Barry
Griswell
with the
Artistic
Corporate
Citizenship
in the Arts
Award;
and Billy
Joel
gave a
rousing
tribute to
Phil
Ramone,
the producer
of this
acclaimed
album The
Stranger,
and
presented
him with the
Arts
Advocacy
Award.
Honorees
crossed the
stage to
receive
their awards
in front of
the
spectacular
video
backdrop
Rapunzel
created by
Jennifer
Steinkamp,
the first
video artist
to be
featured at
the National
Arts
Awards.
When guests
had enjoyed
an entrée of
seared lamb
chops with
polenta
cakes and
haricot vert,
the awards
ceremony
resumed with
a
performance
by the
chorale of
the
Frank
Sinatra
School of
the Arts.
The high
school
students
paid tribute
to honoree
Julie
Andrews,
performing
Doe a
Deer of
The Sound
of Music
and
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
of Mary
Poppins
and to
Phil Ramone,
performing
Joel’s
New York
State of
Mind,
which he
produced.
After the
performances,
Thelma
Golden
gave a
heartfelt
tribute to
Kehinde
Wiley,
the
recipient of
the Young
Artist Award
for Artistic
Excellence,
Michael
Kimmelman
paid tribute
to Yoko
Ono with
the Kitty
Carlisle
Hart Award,
and Mary
Rodgers
Guettel
presented
Dame Julie
Andrews
with the
Lifetime
Achievement
Award,
which was
met with a
standing
ovation from
the crowd of
450 people.
Guests
attending
the ceremony
included
Jeff Koons,
Yvonne
Force, Aimee
Mullins,
Kelly
Bensimon,
Todd Eberle,
Jeffrey
Deitch,
Christie
Iles, Marian
Goodman,
Brian Stokes
Mitchell,
Danny Meyer,
Amalia Dayan,
Ellen
Phelan, Joel
Shapiro,
Tony Award
winning
director of
South
Pacific
Bartlett
Sher,
dancers
Bat Abbott,
Pierre
Dulaine and
Graham
Lustic,
choreographer
Jennifer
Muller, and
cabaret
artist
Theo
Blackman.
The
evening’s
guests left
with gifts
generously
donated by
honorees and
sponsors,
including
highly
coveted
“Listen.
Reflect.
Choose.
Vote.”
shirts and
posters by
2006
Lifetime
Achievement
Award winner
John
Baldessari,
which AFTA
featured at
both the
Democratic
and
Republican
conventions
in order to
convey the
importance
of arts
during the
election.
Guest also
received
multilingual
buttons that
read Imagine
Peace, the
famed
message of
Yoko Ono and
her late
husband John
Lennon,
Billy Joel’s
The
Stranger,
Catalogs
from The
Studio
Museum in
Harlem
featuring
Kehinde
Wiley,
Lancome
Juicy Tubes,
copies of
Rolling
Stone
Magazine,
and
Thanks to
You: Wisdom
from Mother
& Child
by Julie
Andrews and
her daughter
Emma Walton
Hamilton.
For further
information,
contact
Lehua Chong
at
Nadine
Johnson on
(212)
228-5555 or
Lehua@nadinejohnson.com