Last week, LongHouse Reserve held the first of their Larsen Salon Series; a Manhattan-based series of talks on design. “We owe it to the great Jack Lenor Larsen, the preeminent textile designer of the 20th century and founder of LongHouse, to carry on the tradition of talks about craft, design, architecture, and textile,” said Director Carrie Rebora Barratt as she welcomed guests. “We chose this space, 180 The Store, because its owner, Denise Wiliamson, travels the world like Jack did, but in her case looking for natural fabrics, extraordinary clothing, and other treasures on display here.”
Contemporary multi-media artist Liz Collins shared about her life and career, working fluidly between art and design, with an emphasis on textile media, including the transition of fabric into multi-dimensional forms. Her method varies the scale of her pieces to make them architectural and inviting rather than object-based.
“I’ve had eras throughout my career where I felt loyalty to certain mediums. Some of the ways to make fabric are so complex that if you try to do too much you can’t go as deep. I wanted to go deep. I wanted to learn… Being in an environment at RISD, teaching and advising students about how to do all these different methods — not just my own expertise — I learned deeply how to do so much more. Going from a RISD student then to a teacher and being exposed to all these possibilities, I segwayed to a place of being less loyal to a medium and more open to the possibilities of all tools to accomplish my visions,” shared Liz.
Matilda McQuaid, Curatorial Director, Cooper-Hewitt Museum concluded the discussion saying, “Jack would have loved this event. He was a great supporter of young artists.”
Guests included Lynne Cooke, E.V. Day, Judy Galloway, Cristina Grajales, Christina Kim, Ted Lee, Ron Lense, Bastienne Schmidt, Almond Zigmund, as well as LongHouse President Nina Gillman, President Emerita Dianne Benson, and Board Members Sherri Donghia, Anne Erni, Gael Towey, James Zajac and special guest, architect Calvin Tsao, from Tsao & McKown Architects, as he prepares to be the Larsen Salon Series’ finale for 2023 on March 20th. Salons in January and February to be announced.
More information at www.LongHouse.org
Arts Ignite proudly hosted its inaugural annual benefit event, GLOW! at The National Arts Club, celebrating their Arts Education Champions. This occasion brought together guests who joined in support of arts education and the honoring of three long-time Arts Ignite supporters — Tom FitzGerald and Sheryl Calabro, esteemed former Arts Ignite board members, and Raúl Esparza, celebrated stage and screen actor.
The evening culminated in a beautifully intimate concert experience directed by Dick Scanlan and musically directed by Mary-Mitchell Campbell with performances by Broadway’s favorites — Ali Stroker, Ryan Shaw, Elizabeth Stanley, and Christopher Sieber. The celebration not only uplifted the incredible contributions Raúl, Tom, and Sheryl have made for arts education but also underscored the transformative power that the arts have on young minds.
For 17 years, Arts Ignite has brought arts education to young people locally in New York City, across the United States and around the world, providing opportunities for students to cultivate their creative capacity, community, and courage. In the past year alone, Arts Ignite has extended its programs to all five boroughs of New York City, four U.S. states, and on three continents, engaging over 3,200 young people in the joy of arts education.
To delve deeper into the mission of Arts Ignite and explore how you can support, visit their website at www.artsignite.org. Your involvement can help illuminate the path to a brighter future for budding artists worldwide.
The Couture Council Young Patrons (CCYP) of The Museum at FIT (MFIT) took part in the opening night party of the Food & Fashion exhibition, an exhibition that explores the impact of food and food culture on fashion design. Food & Fashion includes over 80 garments and accessories by designers including Moschino, Stan Herman, and Carolina Herrera.
The exhibition is co-curated by Melissa Marra-Alvarez, MFIT’s curator of education and research, and Elizabeth Way, the museum’s associate curator of costume.
Notable guests of the CCYP included the co-founders of the Couture Council Young Patrons Lizzie Asher and Adrien Gardner Lesser, shoe designer featured in the show Dyandra Raye, fashion designer Cynthia Rowley and influencer Kit Keenan, artist and designer Maayan Zilberman, publisher Sharon Coplan Hurowitz, and fashion icon and philanthropist Lauren Kulchinsky Levison.
The CCYP co-founders both wore designers featured in the exhibition: Moschino and Carolina Herrera.
The Couture Council Young Patrons, a group of fashion industry leaders and fashion insiders, work to amplify the mission of The Museum at FIT: “to promote creativity and lifelong learning among diverse audiences with innovative exhibitions and public programs that advance knowledge of fashion.” Together with the Couture Council, the CCYP helps provide a secure financial foundation for The Museum at FIT, as well as supporting FIT’s emphasis on social justice and sustainability.
