Hi,
In what certainly felt like the most humid weekend on record this summer, The Art for Life East Hampton -the 8th Annual Art for Life East Hampton - went on without a hitch. The red carpet affair held at the home of Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons was the locale for one of East Hampton's most prominent events. Celebs walked the small red carpet and spoke with The Quest for "it" about what brought them to Art for Life this year.
The annual fundraiser drew nearly 900 attendees, including well-known celebrities from multiple areas of the arts and business,*** many fitting the designation of artist, and each was more willing to speak than the next. First on the carpet was Kevin Liles, Executive VP of Warner Music Group, and soon after Cherie Christmas, Founder of Maxx New York, (a designer and artist in her own right) explained she was "excited to see everyone out for a good cause." Others included Sarah Jones, the talented comedic performer whose husband Steve Coleman appeared in Def Poetry Jam on Broadway (part of the extended Rush and Def Jam family), singer Deborah Cox, who herself was a product of a school that had a lot of funding for the arts, and felt "Art for Life has a great vision...as it is important that we support our youth, our kids and children,**** and anyone that wants to express themselves through the arts."
Still much later, Danny Simmons, the first we interviewed from the Simmons' family shared that, "Art for Life is not so much different this year, but the initiatives that we are starting are different--we are opening our own art center, a whole building dedicated to the arts-- artists studios, a gallery, a green roof, revolving offices for start-up out in our East New York Center; this is a very special year." "We've also gotten a big commitment of over a million dollars from New York City to help us with that project, so we're very happy at the amount of attention and recognition the foundation is getting. Our proudest moment came in speaking with Russell Simmons directly, who surmised that all of the philanthropic work that he does is about service, almost all about young people--whether it is the Diamond Empowerment Fund about education, or the Rush Fund about art education and opportunity ... it is all about lifting people up." Honoree Forest Whitaker, our last red carpet interview for the evening, described the event as "creating the future, as creating voices for people being able to express themselves through their voices."
As the magic of the carpet subsided we made our way to the party itself--an amazing sight to behold set on acres just beyond the Simmons' home. The party was officially christened by The Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band whose performance took place just on the edge of a grand tent. The grand tent was set to welcome guests for a phenomenal evening was part of a layout that included red carpet, and a garden pathway that led to a receiving bar adjoined by a lounge generously stocked with gourmet box lunches for those covering the event. The tent itself was filled with two top-shelf bar stations at both immediate left and right, while the center bore various items up for auction which included paintings by Francesco Clemente; jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz, and several designer dresses (Rachel Roy, Catherine Malandrino) in the evening's signature yellow hue. Notably B. Michael's dress was the most expensive yellow dress at auction, made of Raffia with a starting bid of 15,000. The Quest for "it" took note as guests enjoyed several courses of dinner while speeches were made and the auction itself took place. Attendees were in their glory viewing the aforementioned, and rightfully so as celebrity DJ MOS reigned supreme. Opting to spin an unparalleled mix of 80's disco and R&B classics, we became quickly distracted from our fact finding--yes, the music was that GOOD!
Outside of the tent there was plenty to fill the eye, including strategically placed Land Rovers which we were told were in limited edition, and totaled 40 or so in honor of their 20th Anniversary; they were available for this event only. Land Rover, the platinum sponsor of Art for Life had vehicles available ranging from $38,000-70,000 in value, all accessible to worthy bidders at auction. Final treats for the evening were had by way of a visit to the complimentary Ben & Jerry's truck parked on the side of the Simmons' home that offered ice cream with all the trimmings.
In parting, we passed the initial check-in table (now emptied of its press badges) as we returned to the edge of the small circular driveway where our shuttle bus was to make its final pick-ups. Leaving a fairly large gathering of revelers behind, The Quest for "it" gave a fond goodbye, vowing to return again next year, and to follow more closely many of the programs and services introduced throughout the evening. Our sincerest thanks go to JLM PR for allowing The Quest of "it" to be a part of this memorable occasion.
*photos courtesy of JLMPR
***-celebs from multiple forms of the arts and business: Reverend Run and Family, Actress Nia Long, Actress Ally Sheedy, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, CBS2 Co-Anchor Maurice Dubois, Olympic Gold Medalist Angelo Taylor, Author Terry McMillan, Music Execs. LA Reid & Baby Face Edmonds, Celeb Chef Rocco Di Spirito, Model Petra Nemcova, Rapper Chamillionaire, Dr Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. and many more.
****-kids and children like those that benefitted by The Rush Kids Live Auction. The Rush Kids Live Auction an important part of the evening, allowed patrons to sponsor New York City youth for one year of arts education through Rush's education programs. Each child was represented by one yellow balloon going for $1,000. Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of H3 Entertainment, Inc. ("HTRE"), the first publicly traded hip hop company, as well as President/CEO of HSAN (Hip Hop Summit Action Network), made a special donation on behalf of H3.
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