This past Thursday at the Bowery Hotel, I joined a trendsetting young crowd of artists, doctors, designers, socials, and gallerists, for the Third Annual Art Rocks! New York Benefit. The evening featured 14 emerging artists, cocktails, dancing, and a silent art auction curated by Emmett Shine & James Cruickshank of LOLA New York, to benefit the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at the Columbia University Medical Center.

I parked myself in some prime real estate at the bar, to take in the scene of the stunning crowd. As I was ascertaining a notion of who was in attendance and why, I spotted a gentlemen in a dapper navy and white pin-stripped sport coat with a navy trimmed lapel. Obvi, I had to compliment him and we got to chatting. I discovered that he, Simon Hanft, M.D., a neurosurgery resident at Department of Neurological Surgery Neurological Institute, and his documentary filmmaker friend, Terry Sacchi, were newbies to the scene and aspiring philanthropists. Well, they couldn't have picked a better introductory benefit event then AR!NY.

Impressed by the talent that filled the 2nd floor ballroom, Dr. Hanft inquired what brought this particular crowd to an event such as AR!NY. My response? Fashion.

Being that this event features up and coming artists, by the very nature of the foundation, women utilize this event to showcase their avant-garde style sense and give back to a great cause.

Art Rocks! was founded for the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center at the Columbia Medical Center with the mission to raise money and awareness for the cure and care of diabetes through introducing young, emerging artists to younger generations in the New York Metropolitan area.

Shortly after a bit more discussion about the organization and fundraising in general, we met a gentlemen who is a direct recipient of the evening's efforts. Diagnosed with diabetes as a child, he has been a long time patient at the Berrie Center and successfully managing his disease. With the Center's "Total Diabetes Care", patients are have access to a range of health specialists including; endocrinologists, ophthalmologists, surgeons, podiatrists, nurse educators, nutritionists and exercise physiologists.

Following those interactions and a final survey of the art, I deemed the Third Annual Art Rocks! New York Benefit an exceptional success.

SEEN: Kipton Cronkite, Maggie Rizer, Micah Jesse, John Whitledge of Travolta, and Yoni Goldberg.

Featured Artists: Tim Barber, Andy Coolquitt, Richie Cox, Leo Fitzpatrick, Stephen Irwinm Michael Koehler, Andrew Kup, Brendan Lynch, Thomas McDonnell, Patrick Mcelena, Leigh Ruple, Natalie Shook, Lucien Smith, and Eva Zuckerman.

*photo 1 courtesy of WireImage by Jerritt Clark: DJ Berrie and Nicole Berrie

*photo 2 and 3 courtesy of I Think Youre Swell

On Wednesday, June 17, 2009, The Whitney Contemporaries hosted the annual
Whitney Art Party and auction at Skylight. The benefit raised nearly $500,000 for the Whitney Museum’s Independent Study Program and Educational Initiatives of the Museum.

BCBGMAXAZRIA partnered with the Whitney for the third consecutive year, with co-chairs Adam D. Weinberg, Alice Pratt Brown- Director of the Whitney, and Lubov & Max Azria, along with Allison Aston, Camilla Belle, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo, Mark Fox, Adam Lippes, Melissa Gellman Weiss, and the Whitney Contemporaries.

The evening also celebrated the 20th anniversary of the BCBGMAXAZRIA brand and Max Azria’s unique vision. “My husband and I are thrilled to be partnering again with the Whitney Contemporaries to raise funds for the Whitney’s Independent Study Program,” said Lubov Azria, Creative Director of BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP.  “Our biggest passion in life is creativity so it is a blessing to be able to support the art community and help give these inspiring individuals a voice."

The Whitney Museum of American Art is the leading advocate of 20th- and 21st-century American art. Founded in 1930, the Museum is regarded as the preeminent collection of American art. With its history of exhibiting the most promising and influential American artists and provoking intense critical and public debate, the Whitney's signature show, the Biennial, has become the most important survey of the state of contemporary art in America today.

Attendees included: Lubov & Max Azria, Bradley Cooper, Ali Larter, Camilla Belle, Lake Bell, Gretchen Mol, Gerard Butler, Amber Tamblyn, Maggie Grace, Alexis Bledel, Lindsay Price, Maggie Rizer, Melissa George, Brooklyn Decker, Sessilee Lopez, Selita Ebanks, Hilary Rhoda, Ivanka Trump, Scout Willis, Rumer Willis, Alana Zimmer, Lonneke Engel, Lisa Cant, Hana Soukupova, Sasha Pivovarova, Lydia Hearst, Dree Hemingway, Julie Henderson, Arlenis Sosa, Jason Wu, Alexandra Richards, David Cross, Rachel Alexander, Allison Aston, Narciso Rodriguez, Stacey Bendet, Byrdie Bell, Maggie Betts, Barbara Bush, Valerie Boster, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo, Lauren Remington Platt,  Olivia Chantecaille, Esteban Cortazar, Francisco Costa, Lydia Fenet, Mark Fox, Eugenia Gonzalez, Rogan Gregory, Zani Gugelmann, Jessica Joffe, Calvin Klein, Jared Kushner, Margarita Levieva, Adam Lippes, Meredith Melling Burke, Gilles Mendel, Tinsley Mortimer, Jamie Ray Newman, Lela Rose, Ferebee Bishop Taube, Melissa Gellman Weiss, Roopal Patel, Alexis Bryan Morgan, Stephanie LaCava, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Charlotte Ronson, et al.

Artist and Co-Chair, Mark Fox, contributed many key elements to the event including invitation materials, onsite video projection, and a collaboration with Lubov Azria to produce a one-of-a-kind umbrella as a parting gift for all partygoers. Additionally, Fox generously donated artwork for the silent auction.  His inspiration for this new work, which was created specifically for the event, came from a 1931 quote by the Museum’s founder, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, which is equally relevant today: “It is especially in times like these that we need to look to the spiritual. In art we find it.”

Following last year’s successful launch of an online auction component, the 2009 Whitney Art Party auction once again featured online and in-person bidding for works generously donated by more than 70 of today's leading contemporary artists including: John Baldessari, Matthew Brannon, E.V. Day, Isca Greenfield-Sanders, Corin Hewitt, Jim Hodges, Ryan Humphrey, Terence Koh, Andrew Kuo, Elad Lassry, Louise Lawler, Marilyn Minter, Tom Otterness, and James Welling. Emblematic of the Whitney’s past, present, and future, the participating artists included four current ISP students along with past and future Whitney exhibition subjects.

This year, online bidding was available both through individual bids and the “Buy Now” option, to purchase any work at a set reserve price. So attendees could sip their Belvedere Vodka or 10 Cane Rum while bidding at the soiree, or online bidders could snuggle in a cashmere throw and not miss a thing from home. Also as a first this year, the Whitney hosted an Auction Preview and Reception with artists an hour before the event to provide exclusive access to the artwork and gave guests one final chance to “Buy Now” at reserve prices.

Bronson van Wyck designed the space for the second consecutive year and worked with the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney quote as inspiration for event décor, which included large-scale projections on either end of a long corridor playing circular loops of an original Mark Fox video, and a neon “PARTY” sign sequenced to flash between “ART” and “PARTY” inspired by artists who work in neon such as Tracy Emin.

It is important to note that in addition to all the amazing collaboration efforts that produced this wonderful event, The Whitney Contemporaries are the Whitney’s link to the future, carrying on the Museum’s critical mission of supporting American art. They keep the youthful energy of the Whitney flourishing, bolster the Museum’s commitment to risk and innovation, and involve young leaders and patrons in the fulfillment of the Whitney’s goals.

The Whitney's Independent Study Program (ISP) was founded in 1968 as an innovative, alternative approach to the education of artists, curators, art historians and critics. This benefit provides friends of the ISP an opportunity to support the program’s continuing contribution to the fields of art, architecture, criticism and curatorial practice. The Whitney’s Education Department was established in 1966 as a venue for exploring new approaches to education for all age groups and to developing interdisciplinary, multidimensional programs and materials. Educational programs and resources are designed to make the Whitney's world-renowned collection of American art and its comprehensive exhibition program accessible to multiple audiences.

Art Party proceeds benefit the Independent Study Program and other educational initiatives of the Whitney Museum. Information on membership can be found at Whitney Museum.

*photos courtesy of Patrick McMullan: Camilla Belle and Max Azria, Ali Larter, Bradley Cooper.

*Additional information provided by: L.E. for Paul Wilmont Communications