The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Multicultural Audience Development Initiative will mark its tenth anniversary on January 24, 2008, with its first-ever gala benefit, An Evening of Many Cultures. At the event, two of the founding members of the initiative, Lowery Stokes Sims and Richard V. Clarke, will be honored for their longstanding commitment to the Museum and to its outreach efforts. The celebration will feature special evening viewings in the Museum's constellation of galleries reflecting many of the cultures of the world. Also on view will be the acclaimed exhibition Eternal Ancestors: The Art of the Central African Reliquary and new installations of works by the contemporary, African-American artist, Kara Walker, and the African artist, El Anatsui.
Bathed in warm, dreamy lights evoking nightfall, guests will enjoy a champagne reception in the Great Hall. Live performances throughout the evening will showcase diverse traditions of music and dance, including Latin jazz, traditional Chinese Guzheng music and native American Fancy Shawl dancing. An international banquet will be served at The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing, with music and salsa dancing to follow.
Honorary Chairs of the gala include Council member Robert Jackson, Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer, and Council member David Weprin. Co-chairs include Olga de Amaral, Kathleen Battle, Cindy Hsu, Walter Mosley, Alan Muraoka, Dana Tyler, Cicely Tyson, Miriam Colon Valle and Kay WalkingStick.
Since its inauguration in 1998, the Multicultural Audience Development Initiative has worked toward its mission to educate and inspire visitors of diverse backgrounds and ancestries by heightening awareness of the Museum's collections and programs, increasing participation in its activities, and diversifying its visitorship and membership.
An Evening of Many Cultures is made possible by Asian Women in Business and Verizon Foundation.
Additional support was provided by Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Chrysler LLC, The City University of New York (CUNY), Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Time Warner, Inc.
Moët Chandon champagne provided by Moët Hennessy USA.
"We are delighted to celebrate this landmark anniversary of the initiative with acquaintances old and new, and to renew our dedication to provide a meeting ground for our visitors from around the world, who come together from widely different cultures and geographic locations to experience the Metropolitan Museum's superb and equally diverse collections," commented Donna Williams, the Metropolitan Museum's Chief Audience Development Officer.
Lowery Stokes Sims, currently a curator at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, has been involved with the Metropolitan Museum since 1972. For many years she was a curator in the Department of 20th Century Art, and she has served on the Museum's Multicultural Audience Development Advisory Committee since its founding and is a former member of the Metropolitan's External Affairs advisory committee. Richard V. Clarke is a Trustee Emeritus of the Metropolitan Museum and the External Affairs advisory committee, and also serves on the Museum's Multicultural Audience Development Advisory Committee.
The January 24 benefit is organized by the Board of Trustees and the Multicultural Audience Development Initiative Advisory Committee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tickets are $600 each and may be purchased by contacting the Museum's Development Office at 212-570-3956 or online at www.metmuseum.org/ways_to_give/tickets/multicultural.
The Multicultural Audience Committee is comprised of leaders of New York's African American, Latino, Hispanic, American Indian, South Asian, and Asian American communities and organizations. The committee works to cultivate collaborative partnerships between the Museum and its members' constituents, and its events can be found online at www.metmuseum.org/audiencedevelopment.
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January 18, 2008
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