Press Release

February 2012

Brooklyn Museum’s Annual Gala “The Artists Ball” to Recognize the Fifth Anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for

Table Environments by Brooklyn Women Artists to Provide Guests with Multi-Sensory Dining Experience

Museum to Honor Elizabeth A. Sackler and Artists Martha Rosler, Amy Sillman, and Mickalene Thomas

Brooklyn, NY—On Wednesday evening, April 18, 2012, the will host its annual fundraising gala, the Brooklyn Artists Ball. This year’s ball will celebrate women artists and recognize the fifth anniversary of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, the only space of its kind in the nation. During the evening, Elizabeth Sackler will be presented with the Augustus Graham Medal, named after a founder of the Museum and awarded each year in recognition of a strong commitment to the arts and continued support of the Brooklyn Museum. In addition, Brooklyn women artists Martha Rosler, Amy Sillman, and Mickalene Thomas will be presented with the Asher B. Durand Award, named for the artist who gave the first work of contemporary art to enter the Museum’s collection.

Museum Trustee Carla Shen and Museum patron Nilani Trent are Co-Chairs of the event. Academy Award-winning actress Marisa Tomei, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, will act as Honorary Chair.

The Brooklyn Artist’s Ball will commence at 6:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception featuring a new video installation created especially for the evening by artist Nicole Cohen in the Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion.

Following the cocktail reception, an elegant seated dinner will take place in the Museum’s magnificent Beaux- Arts Court. Guests will dine at table environments created for the occasion by sixteen Brooklyn women artists selected by the Museum’s curators: Natalie Frank, Chitra Ganesh, Kate Gilmore, Kimberley Hart, Malia Jensen, Fay Ku, Liz Magic Laser, Simone Leigh, Nicola López, Carmen McLeod, Sheila Pepe, Kenya Robinson, Valeska Soares, Swoon, Janaina Tschape, and Saya Woolfalk. Each artist will transform a 40-foot-long table into a new work of art that will be on view for one night only.

200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238-6052 T (718) 638-5000 F (718) 501-6134 www.brooklynmuseum.org For the first time, the Brooklyn Museum will partner with artnet Auctions to present The Brooklyn Artists Ball Auction, which features works donated by women artists. Details about the works to be auctioned will be announced at a future date. For more information and to register to bid, please visit www.artnet.com/ auctions/brooklynmuseum.

A public historian, arts activist, American Indian advocate, and matron of the arts, Elizabeth A. Sackler, Ph.D. was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Museum in 2000. She is president of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation. A writer and lecturer, she has been the recipient of numerous awards and citations, among them ArtTable’s prestigious Distinguished Service to the Visual Arts Award in 2006 and the Jewish Women’s Archive 2012 “Making Trouble/Making History” award. In 2002, the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation donated the feminist masterpiece by to the Museum. The Sackler Center has attracted more than a half million visitors since it opened in March of 2007.

Brooklyn-born artist Martha Rosler received her B.A. from Brooklyn College and her M.F.A. from the University of California, San Diego. Her work in video, photo-text, installation, and performance ranges from everyday life and the media, often with an eye to women’s experience, to architecture, and the built environment.

Amy Sillman is a painter who lives in Brooklyn, . She attended New York University, the School of Visual Arts in New York, and Bard College. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2001 and a Tiffany Foundation Grant in 1999. Her work has been shown widely and is held in numerous public collections, including the Museum of and The Whitney Museum in New York.

New York-based artist Mickalene Thomas is known for her elaborate paintings adorned with rhinestones, enamel, and colorful acrylics. She received her B.F.A. from Pratt Institute, her M.F.A. from Yale University, and currently lives in New York. Her depictions of African American women explore notions of black female celebrity and identity while romanticizing ideas of femininity and power.

Immediately following the Ball at 9 p.m., the Museum will host an After-Party sponsored by W Magazine.

Tickets to the Ball start at $750, and tables of ten start at $7,500. Tickets to the After-Party will also be available. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (718) 501-6423, or e-mail special.events@ brooklynmuseum.org. Proceeds from the event will support the Museum’s exhibition, education, and outreach programs.

Page : 2 Press Contact: Ava Rollins, [email protected] Adam Abdalla, [email protected] Nadine Johnson & Associates, Inc. (212) 228-5555

Brooklyn Museum Press Office: Sally Williams, Public Information Officer, (718) 501-6330, [email protected] Adam Husted, Media Relations Manager, (718) 501-6331, [email protected]

GENERAL INFORMATION

Admission: Museum Hours: Contribution $12; students with valid I.D. and older Wednesday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday adults $8. Free to Members and children under 12 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to accompanied by an adult. Group tours or visits must 6 p.m.; first Saturday of each month, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. be arranged in advance by calling extension 234. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Directions: Subway: Seventh Avenue express (2 or 3) to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum stop; Lexington Avenue express (4 or 5) to Nevins Street, cross platform and transfer to the 2 or 3. Bus: B41, B69, B48. On-site parking available.

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