On Thursday, October 29, the American
Federation of Arts (AFA) held its 2015 Gala
& Cultural Leadership Awards, honoring
renowned Miami-based art patrons and
collectors Carlos
& Rosa de la Cruz; contemporary
American artist Wade
Guyton; and recently retired
longtime director of the Brooklyn Museum Arnold
Lehman. Parallel to the AFA’s
dedication to enriching the public’s
experience and understanding of art, this
year’s honorees are true advocates of
accessibility and innovation, and active
participants in the contemporary art world.
The annual benefit gala has become one of
the AFA’s most anticipated events of the
year, gathering approximately 180 attendees,
composed of AFA trustees, supporters,
artists, and art world leaders, to celebrate
the achievements of these extraordinary
individuals.
The proceeds of the evening benefit the
distinguished research, programs, and
exhibitions that are toured to museums
around the globe by the AFA. In the past
year, the AFA toured five exhibitions to
fourteen museums, reaching audiences of
close to one million people across North
America. In concert with the Nanjing Museum,
the AFA organized a major international
forum in China that brought a delegation of
over twenty museum directors to meet with
their Sino counterparts, paving the way for
international exchange of exhibitions. In
fall 2014, the AFA assumed administration of
the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, one of
the first artist-endowed foundations in
America that biannually awards grants to
emerging artistic talent. The 2015 AFA
ArtViews program focused on the evolution of
the digital landscape in museums and
benefitted from partnerships with the
Association of Art Museum Directors and the
Arts & Business Council of New York. |
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Event Details
The evening began with a lively cocktail
hour in the Great Hall before guests moved
into the West Lounge for a seated dinner and
the presentation of the Cultural Leadership
Awards. AFA Director Pauline Willis kicked
off the awards ceremony by thanking the
attendees and other generous individuals for
their important contributions in support of
the AFA and its mission, and introduced the
individuals being honored for their
extraordinary achievements in philanthropy,
leadership, and artistry.
The awards were presented by an esteemed
group of individuals who have also displayed
significant contributions to the arts: Nancy
Spector, Deputy Director and
Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator,
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; Scott
Rothkopf, Deputy Director for
Programs and Nancy and Steve Crown Family
Chief Curator, Whitney Museum of American
Art; and Elizabeth A. Sackler,
Board Chair of the Brooklyn Museum and
President of the Elizabeth A. Sackler
Foundation, respectively. Former AAMD
President and Director of the Seattle Art
Museum, Kimerly Rorschach,
surprised all in attendance with a moving
speech in honor of Mr. Lehman on behalf of
the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD).
The honorees spoke of their commitment to
the AFA's mission. Arnold Lehman described
how, over his two decades serving on the
Board of the AFA, “he's developed a fervent
admiration for what the AFA does, which has
grown stronger with each passing season.”
Carlos de la Cruz said, "I think
nowadays it is easier to raise funds for
buildings than it is for the purchase of
collections, and a lot of institutions,
smaller ones especially, are really faced
with not having a permanent collection. And
so the model of the American Federation of
Arts, to bring collections, especially to
medium sized and rural institutions, is
really something that can do a lot for
America. I congratulate Pauline and the
board of the AFA for the work they are
doing.”
Décor from Matthew Robbins Designs transformed
the Upper East Side Metropolitan Club into a
Miami-style oasis with ferns, palm fronds,
and luscious tropical flowers. Live music
from Latin Jazz ensemble, La Banda
Ramirez, played throughout the
evening. After dinner, guests enjoyed
dancing and cocktails in the main
bar.
AFA Director Pauline Willis and gala
co-chairs Steph
& Jody La Nasa, NancyJane
& Jeffrey Loewy, Martha
MacMillan, and Betsy
Pinover Schiff hosted
distinguished guests including:Rosa
and Carlos de la Cruz (honorees,
de la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art
Space); Arnold
& Pam Lehman (honoree,
Phillips); Wade
Guyton (artist); Friedrich
Petzel (Petzel
Gallery);Samantha Tsao (Petzel
Gallery); Sabiha
Al Khemir (Museum
of Islamic Art, Doha); Ruth
Appelhof (Guild
Hall of East Hampton); Michael
& Candace Carmel Barasch (patrons); Betsy
and Robert Barbanell (patrons); Elizabeth
Belfer (patron); Izabela
Depzcyk (ARTnews);Alexandra
& David Drucker (patrons); Marty
& Rebecca Eisenberg (patrons); Mari
& Alberto de la Cruz (patrons); Ashleigh
Fernandez (Goldman
Sachs); Leslie
& Tom Freudenheim(patrons); Lee
White Galvis & Sergio Galvis (patrons); David
Georgiades (Phillips); Jean-Michel
Placent (Phillips); Chester
Gillis (Georgetown
University); Tim
Griffin (The
Kitchen);Anthony Hirschel; Margot
& Robert Linton (patrons); Martha
MacMillan (patron); Claire
Marmion (The
Haven Art Group); Clare
McKeon (patron); Sarah
& Alec Machiels (patrons);Merrill
and Chris Mahan (patrons); Meryl
& Robert Meltzer (patrons); Lindsay
Pollock & Andrew Zarnett (Art
in America); Kimerly
Rorschach (Seattle
Art Museum); Scott
Rothkopf(Whitney Museum of American
Art); Nancy
Spector (Solomon
R. Guggenheim Museum); Elizabeth A.
Sackler (Elizabeth
A. Sackler Foundation); Ibett
Yanez (de
la Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space); Jennifer
Wright (Christie’s).
ARTnews served as the
Gala’s media sponsor.
Benefit Committee
Ruth Appelhof & Gary Adamek, Elizabeth
Belfer, Jonathan Binstock, Stephanie &
Frederick Clark, Suzanne Delehanty,
Ghislain d'Humières, Alexandra & David
Drucker, Ashleigh Fernandez, Brian
Ferriso, Leslie & Tom Freudenheim, Miller
Gaffney, Lee White Galvis & Sergio
Galvis, Kathleen J. Graytok, Agnes Gund, Anthony
Hirschel, Ann & Gilbert H. Kinney, Melyora
de Koning, Margot & Robert Linton, Sarah
& Alec Machiels, Merrill & Chris
Mahan, Claire Marmion, Amory & Sean
McAndrew, Clare McKeon, Meryl & Robert
Meltzer, Petzel Gallery, Madeleine
Plonsker, Kimerly Rorschach, Martha A. &
Robert S. Rubin, Capera Ryan, Victoria
Triplett, Jennifer Wright
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The American Federation of Arts is the
leader in traveling exhibitions
internationally. A nonprofit institution
founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to
enriching the public’s experience and
understanding of the visual arts through
organizing and touring art exhibitions for
presentation in museums around the world,
publishing exhibition catalogues featuring
important scholarly research, and developing
educational programs. Current and upcoming
AFA exhibitions include Pastures
Green & Dark Satanic Mills: The British
Passion for Landscape; Indigenous
Beauty: Masterworks of American Indian Art
from the Diker Collection; Out
of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture; When
Modern Was Contemporary: Selections from the
Roy R. Neuberger Collection; Matisse
Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly from
the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation
Collection; A
Joyful Revelation: The Fauve Paintings of
Georges Braque; Kay
WalkingStick: An American Artist; Art
of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central
Africa; Ancestral
Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the
Kaplan & Levi Collection; Women
Artists in Paris 1850–1900 (working
title); and
Transatlantic Encounters: Latin American
Artists in Paris between the Wars, 1918–39.
For more information about the AFA, visit www.afaweb.org.
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