Stilt walker – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
On Monday night, the New York Academy of Art, co-founded by Andy Warhol, held its largest and most important fundraiser, the Tribeca Ball. Supported as always by Van Cleef and Arpels, this year welcomed special honored guest Alan Cumming and celebrated 44 years of extraordinary support and advancement of this Academy from Eileen Guggenheim and Russell Wilkinson.
Katie Ryan, Ashleigh Hillen, Lynn Ramsey – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
300 people attended for dinner and there were over 900 guests. In excess of $900,000 was raised, reenforcing its reputation as one of spring’s most dynamic and vital celebrations and making a substantial financial impact on the Academy.
“I always enjoy overindulging by buying art at the school. It is such a great value for the quality of work being accomplished,” – Sharon Jacob, member, Board of Trustees, The New York Academy of Art.
Pakistanian artist Areeba Afreen Qureshi -photo by Marilyn Kirschner
The premier art event, a must-see for serious collections, annually transforms the school’s Franklin Street campus into an immersive gallery, allowing guests to visit over 100 artist studios. It is unique in combining a high-end gala with direct, intimate access to emerging artists, allowing collectors to discover, meet, and buy art from students.
It’s a night of art, open studios, live entertainment, hors d’oeuvres, and surprises on every floor. Mash booth’s premium photo booth, this year inspired by Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, celebrated Renaissance art. With so much visual stimulation everywhere, it’s nearly impossible to take it all in. The abundance of talent makes you wish for more space and resources to fully appreciate the art.
Colombian artist Catalina Bayona is inspired by the natural world and the human condition – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
By the way, it was hard not to notice all the massive, extremely large-scale paintings. As one young, gifted artist observed, “As a group we have a lot of big ideas and like to see them blown up.” Indeed!
Speaking of talent, the Chubb postgraduate fellowship is the highest honor the Academy can bestow on its graduates. Under the program, the fellows have the opportunity to expand the breadth and depth of their artistic prowess while serving as teaching assistants and mentors to a new crop of talented figurative artists.
Chubb Fellow Korbyn Carleton – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Among the three Chubb Fellows selected this year is Korbyn Carleton, a disciplinary artist and MFA graduate specializing in figurative sculpture, exploring themes of body literacy, natural rhythms, and feminine experience through her life, including painterly ceramic portraiture.
Chubb Fellow Sierra Merda – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Another is Sierra Merda, a Lithuanian-born, New York-based contemporary painter. Her work, rooted in London’s feminist punk and DIY scenes, merges classical ideals with the realities of modern life, focusing on themes of survival, endurance, and the body.
Ms. New York 2025 Iuliia Bazhan wearing Schiaparelli – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
As always, the evening’s dress code is “upscale downtown,” and it was a mixed bag for sure. As someone who has attended many of these events, I can attest that the most important thing is to dress so you can easily navigate the steep stairs between the 5 floors, as there is only one elevator.
Polina Proshkina and Eric Viner – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
The swarm of guests milling around the NYAA’s 5 floors included Paul R. Provost, Ph.D., the President of the New York Academy of Art, 2023 honoree artist Neil Jenney, Dustin Yellin, a contemporary artist based in Brooklyn, Barbara Guggenheim, Alan Patricof, Polina Proshkina, Cynthia Rowley, Cat O’Neal, Nicole Miller, Alexander Hankin, Holly Lowen, Carla Shen, Eric Viner, Sophie Elgort, Nicole Salmasi, Yulia Dultsina, a celebrated public art producer, cultural curator, and arts administrator renowned for her work on global art initiatives, and Sharon Jacob, the noted philanthropist who sits on the NYAA Board of Trustees.
Bill and Sharon Jacob – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
As a guest of Sharon and Bill Jacob, who bought two tables, I attended the seated dinner on the first floor, where awards and speeches took place. This was followed by a spirited auction, an important fundraiser for the academy.
Alan Cumming – photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Christopher Hanke, the gifted actor, writer, host and auctioneer, eventually joined by honoree Alan Cumming, was hysterical. Here called being in medical school and calling his parents to tell them he had changed his mind and was heading to Broadway. They replied, “I thought you were calling to say you were gay”. His response? “I just did!”
At one point, he observed that Bruce Springsteen has stated that his goal is to have people leave his concerts with more than they came with. On the other hand, his goal, to get guests to open their pocketbooks and empty them out, is quite the opposite lol. And it worked.
In addition to buying a number of paintings from first and second-year students, Sharon, who has an infectious “joie de vivre” and a heart of gold, won the auction for a stay (7 days, 6 nights) at a house in the French countryside that sleeps up to 25! Christopher exclaimed, “I don’t think I even know 25 people I want to spend that much time with.”
Latest Comments
An Explosion of stunning and playful creativity inspired by the Glorious BEAUTY of ORCHIDS!!!
Marilyn, You look absolutely fabulous! And this Elsa Schiaparelli bag !!!! We have met a few times at different events.…