2023 Artist Benefit + Banquet: A spectacular fundraiser for risk-taking artists!
The Creative Capital Artist Benefit + Banquet on September 20, 2023 at the Paradise Club at the Times Square EDITION Hotel in New York City was the largest fundraiser in our history, raising critical funds in support of grants, professional services, and community building for underserved, risk-taking artists. Co-chaired by Everette Taylor, Kimberly Drew, and Creative Capital Board Chair Reginald M. Browne, this year’s Benefit honored visionary artists and their achievements in the field: Lynn Hershman Leeson (2008 Creative Capital Grantee), Raven Chacon (2012 Creative Capital Grantee), and Ja’Tovia Gary (2019 Creative Capital Grantee).
Reginald Browne, Kimberly Drew, Everette Taylor. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Aruna D’Souza, Raven Chacon. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Christiane Paul, Aruna D’Souza, and Autumn Knight made personal tributes to the honorees, who each received an Isamu Noguchi Akari lamp as a symbol of their lighting the path forward in the arts. Guests were wowed by Yaya Bey’s soulful music, which Rolling Stone described as, “sensitive and bare. Bey plainly reveals generational trauma, lust, and prayers with innovative vocalizations.” Sherrill Roland (2021 Creative Capital Grantee) created limited edition sculptures made of steel and Kool-Aid exclusively for the benefit.
Christine Kuan, Anicka Yi, Sherrill Roland. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
“We believe artists are vital to free speech and democracy. And we believe that we have an obligation to provide artists with a democratic and open process for access to funding. We are a cult favorite amongst artists, recognized for our unparalleled care and long-term support.” —Christine Kuan, President & Executive Director
Nicole Fleetwood, Erin Gilbert, Legacy Russell. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Esteemed guests included artists Anicka Yi, Lorraine O’Grady, Viva Ruiz, Pamela Sneed, Kevin Claiborne, Legacy Russell, Narcissister, Bill T. Jones, Aaron Landsman, Larissa FastHorse, Julie Atlas Muz, Du Yun, and Kristina Wong, along with figures from the art, fashion, technology, and entertainment worlds.
Lorraine O’Grady, Mariane Ibrahim-Lenhardt. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Lori Taylor, Everette Taylor
John Chan, Timer Galen, Linda Genereux, Grace Oh. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Kayla Curtis-Evans, Jordan Huelskamp. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Notable attendees also included JiaJia Fei, Nicole R. Fleetwood, Timur Galen and Linda Genereux, Reginald Browne, Elaine Goldman, Dan Cameron, Steve Henry, Candice Hopkins, Jordan Huelskamp, Mariane Ibrahim-Lenhardt, Charlie Jarvis, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Andreas Laszlo Konrath, Lyda Kuth, Ruby Lerner, Joseph V. Melillo, Grace Oh, Kymberly Pinder, Eric Pryor, Corey Robinson, Sekka Scher, Joan Shigekawa, Catharine Stimpson, Alice Gray Stites, and Hannah Traore. Supporters also included Isa Catto and Daniel Shaw, Paige West, Paula Cooper Gallery, and Agnes Gund. Creative Capital’s 2023 Benefit was sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Supergoop! Partners included ALMA Communications, BFA, and Fremont Blue Events.
Katherine Behar, Aliza Shvarts, Du Yun, Bang Geul Han. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Kevin Claiborne, Hannah Traore. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Guests wore their best “iconic” looks (the evening dress code) that tapped into sleek futurist and surrealist sensibilities. Aerialists and go-go dancers from Kitty Koalition dazzled the audience during the cocktail hour and dinner.
An aerialist from Kitty Koalition. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
DJ April Hunt. BFA/ Deonté Lee.
Guests in disco-themed costumes moved to beats by DJ April Hunt, sipped Tito’s Espresso Martinis, and departed with a gift of Supergoop! Daily Dose Hydra Ceramide Boost SPF 40.
All proceeds from the Artist Benefit + Banquet will support grants and services for groundbreaking artists. Thank you to all of our Hosts, Benefit Committee, partners, sponsors, artists, staff, contributors, and supporters for making this unforgettable evening possible!
Special thanks to our co-chairs Reginald M. Browne, Kimberly Drew, and Everette Taylor. Thank you to the Benefit Committee: Sarah Arison, Reggie and Aliya Browne, James Keith Brown, Isa Catto and Daniel Shaw, Paula Cooper Gallery, JiaJia Fei, Nicole R. Fleetwood, The Linda Genereux and Timur Galen Family Fund, Elaine Goldman and John Benis, Agnes Gund, Lisa Heller, Jordan Huelskamp, Mariane Ibrahim, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Bill T. Jones and Bjorn Amelan, Lyda Kuth, Ruby Lerner, Joseph V. Melillo, Narcissister, Lorraine O’Grady, Grace Oh, Formation Association, Kymberly Pinder, Stephen Reily and Emily Bingham, Legacy Russell, Sekka Scher, Marquise Stillwell, Catharine Stimpson, Martine Syms, Mickalene Thomas, Hannah Traore, Paige West, and Kristina Wong, as well as sponsor Tito’s and SuperGoop!. Thank you to partners ALMA Communications, BFA, and Fremont Blue Events.
See coverage in Surface Magazine and more event shots from BFA Photos by clicking here.
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Creative Capital celebrates Jeffrey Gibson (Choctaw/Cherokee), 2005 Creative Capital Awardee, who has made history this year as the first Indigenous artist to represent the US at the Venice Biennale. Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me, invites reflection on individual and collective identities through sculpture, painting, video, and multimedia installation, with the title of the exhibition referencing Oglala Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier’s poem “Ȟe Sápa.”
“When I’m thinking about objects made by Native people, historically, the circumstances they were living in, it’s counterintuitive to think that the thing to do would have been to make something beautiful. I realized they made spaces of freedom,” —Jeffrey Gibson, “Representing the U.S. and Critiquing It in a Psychedelic Rainbow,” The New York Times