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Yoga Enthusiasts Revel at Smithsonian’s Sackler Gallery
for “Some Enlightened Evening” Gala
October 17 event
Featured a performance by
Chandrika Tandon
Washington DC.
The Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
hosted an evening of exceptional art and divine music
Thursday, Oct. 17, for its annual gala, “Some Enlightened
Evening.” Chaired by Dame Jillian Sackler, Hilaria and Alec
Baldwin and Chandrika Tandon, the event benefited “Yoga: The
Art of Transformation,” the world’s first exhibition on the
art of yoga, on view at the Sackler Oct. 19, 2013–Jan. 26,
2014.
Around 300 guests attended the Gala to
celebrate the exhibition’s unveiling with fine cuisine
created by Floyd Cardoz, executive chef of New York City’s
North End Grill and winner of Top Chef Masters, season 3. A
Highlight of the evening was a performance by
Grammy-nominated vocalist Chandrika Tandon.
The Gala hosted under the patronage of Nirupama Rao,
ambassador of India to the United States and His Highness Gaj Singh
II, Maharajaof Jodhpur-Marwar. The evening also recognized
luminaries who have contributed to the contemporary practice
of yoga, including yoga enthusiasts Hilaria and Alec
Baldwin, mind-body medical researcher Dr. Lorenzo Cohen,
internationally celebrated yoga instructor SeaneCorn, Indian
art scholar Dr. Vidya Dehejia, and premier Iyengar Yoga
teacher John Schumacher.
Both Hilaria Baldwin and Dame Jillian Sackler wore
dresses designed by Reem Acra. Hilaria’s dress was a
multi-sequin starburst gown with a v-neck on Italian tulle.
Dame Jillian Sackler’s dress was art deco, a long sleeved
beaded grown made of silk chiffon. Gem
Palace adjourned all three female Chairs.
Other attendees included: Hilaria and
Alec Baldwin, Sally Quinn with her son Quinn Bradlee and Pari Bradlee,
Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough, Mr. Siddharth Kasliwal,
Sir James Mallinson and Lady Mallinson (Ambassador of the
United Kingdom), Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi, Dr. and Mrs.
Michael Pillsbury, Her Excellency Nirupama Rao (Ambassador
of India), Jana Pasquel De Shapiro, Dame Jillian Sackler, John Schumacher, Prince Karni Singh
of Jodphur, Chandrika Tandon (world singer and sister of
Indra Nooyi), Dominic West (the actor) and Uma Permaraju (Fox
Anchor).
TranscenDANCE, an after-dinner soirée hosted
by the Freer|Sackler’s Silk Road Society for young patrons,
followed the “Some Enlightened Evening” gala from 8:30
pm–midnight at the Sackler. Guests mingled with gala
attendees, dance to beats by Rob Garza of the Washington,
D.C.-based Thievery Corporation and enjoy open
bars, hors d’oeuvres, and specialty desserts.
“Yoga: The Art of Transformation” features
masterpieces of Indian sculpture and painting from more than
25 museums and private collections in India, Europe and the
United States. Temple sculptures, devotional icons, vibrant
manuscripts, and court paintings created over 2,000
years—as well as early modern photographs, books, and
films—reveal yoga's mysteries, illuminate its profound
meanings, and examines the varied roles that yogis and yoginis played
in society, from sages to spies. Major support for “The
Art of Transformation” is provided by the Friends of the
Freer|Sackler, Whole
Foods Market, Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, the
Alec Baldwin Foundation, and Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon.
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, located at
1050 Independence Avenue S.W., and the adjacent Freer
Gallery of Art, located at 12th Street and Independence
Avenue S.W., are on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day (closed Dec. 25),
and admission is free. The galleries are located near the
Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines.
For more information about the Freer and Sackler Galleries
and their exhibitions, programs and other events, the public
may visit www.asia.si.edu.
For general Smithsonian information, the public may call (202)
633-1000.
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