25th Anniversary 1,000 Artists Benefit + Banquet

The Creative Capital 25th Anniversary 1,000 Artists Benefit + Banquet on October 20, 2025 was a magical evening of milestones celebrating 25 years of championing artistic freedom, $55 million fundraised and awarded in grants and services, and 1,000 Creative Capital Awardees! Watch the Creative Capital 25th Anniversary video.

Beloved artists, friends, and supporters traveled far and wide from Hawaii to Texas to Florida to honor fearless visionaries in the arts: Jeffrey Gibson (2005 Creative Capital Awardee), Nona Hendryx (2024 Creative Capital Awardee), Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, and Stephen Reily.

Luminaries Raven Chacon (2012 Creative Capital Awardee) and Candice Hopkins, JK Brown and Eric Diefenbach, Allison Glenn, and Legacy Russell (2021 Creative Capital Awardee) made toasts and personal tributes to the honorees.

Board Chair Reginald Browne said in his opening remarks, “What makes art so vital to national identity is its ability to embrace complexity. America is not one story, but many—stories of migration and settlement, freedom and oppression, triumph and tragedy. The artist documents this tension. They remind us that identity is not fixed but evolving, shaped by the voices we choose to include.”

President and Executive Director Christine Kuan presented Founding President Ruby Lerner a special award for her groundbreaking leadership. Ruby and Christine toasted COO Leslie Singer for her two and a half decades of exceptional service to artists at Creative Capital.

Guests enjoyed laughs by theater artist extraordinaire Carmelita Tropicana (2016 Creative Capital Awardee), an out-of-this-world performance of “Universal Truth” by Nona Hendryx ‘The Afro-Future Queen’ and her guests from another universe The Illustrious Blacks, and beats by DJ Bill Coleman.

In the shimmer of a giant disco ball at The Pool in the iconic Seagram Building, guests feasted on a sumptuous banquet that culminated in clouds of pink cotton candy and fortune cookies with messages from Creative Capital artists. Guests took home limited edition totes custom-designed by Edgar Arceneaux (2005 Creative Capital Awardee).

Special thanks to our amazing Board of Directors and National Advisory Council, all of our extraordinary supporters, Benefit Committee, and our Benefit Co-Chairs: Pele-o-ali’ilagi and Michael Bennett, Reggie and Aliya Browne, Raven Chacon and Candice Hopkins, and Mickalene Thomas.

Our 25th Anniversary benefit was our most successful fundraiser to date with proceeds supporting the Creative Capital Awards and our new State of the Art Prize, a $10,000 unrestricted grant to one artist in all 50 states and territories.

Your friendship, engagement, and generosity enable Creative Capital to provide broad-based, grassroots support for artists across the entire country!

Photos BFA and Annie Forrest. See more photos.

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