Guests enjoying the art at NYFA's 2022 Hall of Fame Benefit

NYFA’s 2022 Hall of Fame Benefit
Image Credit: Clint Spaulding

NYFA Hall of Fame Benefit

NYFA’s annual Hall of Fame Benefit is a vibrant celebration of the arts and an acknowledgement of both the remarkable artists we serve and the incredible patrons who support our mission.

Established in 2011 as NYFA’s most significant fundraiser, this benefit offers an enchanting evening featuring a banquet dinner, an awards ceremony recognizing luminaries in visual, literary, and performing arts, a silent auction filled with unique artistic treasures, and an energetic paddle raise to support NYFA’s diverse programs. It’s an opportunity to come together for a night of joy and celebration, honoring those who have made profound impacts in the arts and those who sustain artistic vision with unwavering integrity.

This celebration is a tribute to the spirit of creativity and dedication that embodies NYFA’s mission.

2025 Hall of Fame Benefit

The 2025 Hall of Fame Benefit will take place on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at Gotham Hall in Manhattan.

Inductees:
Jaye Moon, Visual Arts | Fellow in Sculpture ‘09
JT Rogers, Playwright | Fellow in Playwriting/Screenwriting ’04, ’08, ’16
Cristina Enriquez-Bocobo, Patron of the Arts, Partner at Makeable LLC
Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs

Program:
6:30-7:30 PM Cocktails and Hors d’oeuvres, Silent Auction
7:30-9 PM Dinner and Honors
9-9:30 PM Dessert

Attire: Festive

Special Limited Edition Artwork: Jaye Moon

Purchase Tickets

Can’t attend? Donate here

2025 Hall of Fame Benefit Auction

Our annual Hall of Fame Auction will go live online March 4-18, 2025. Browse and bid on an array of artworks by NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellows, participants of NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring program participants, Fiscal Sponsorship project directors, and dedicated members of our creative community.

The auction presents a unique opportunity for you to enrich your art collection while championing NYFA’s mission to empower artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines!

Be sure to mark your calendars and return to this page after March 4 to view and bid. All auction items will be on display at Gotham Hall on the evening of March 18, and the auction will close to online and in-person bids at 9pm ET.

Our 2025 Hosts

Benefit Planning Committee

Liz Christensen
Lesley-Anne Gliedman
Marc J. Jason
J. Wesley McDade
Sarah Young O’Donnell

Host Committee

Federico Acuna
Joe Baker
Kate Bellin
Caroline Black
Brookfield Properties
Myrna Chao
Alexandra Chasin
Alessandra DiGiusto
Chris Donini and Alyson Goldstein
Michael and Victoria Findlay
Nina Greenberg
Agnes Gund
Janice P. Haggerty
Grace Angela Henry
Mary Lang
Seth Levin
Earle I. Mack
Leni and David Moore
David and Susan Rockefeller
Dr. Jack Rosenberg
Whitney Stevens
Justin Tobin
Elizabeth von Habsburg
(as of January 9, 2025)

Artist Committee

Leslie Boyce
Marylyn Dintenfass
Eunbi Kim and Austin Chu
Mark Dion
Coco Fusco
Min Jin Lee
Jennifer Wen Ma
Marilyn Minter
Mira Nair
Christopher Rudd
Isabel Sandoval
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh
Andres Serrano
Arthur Simms
Emily Mae Smith
Lynne Tillman
Carmelita Tropicana
Luis Valderas
(as of January 9, 2025)

View past NYFA Hall of Fame Inductees.

About NYFA

Founded in 1971, The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is dedicated to empowering the creative community by providing critical support, resources, and opportunities through four key programs: Learning, Awards and Grants, Fiscal Sponsorship, and Online Resources.

NYFA upholds the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) as core to its mission. The organization is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring individuals from diverse backgrounds and disciplines have access to the necessary resources for their artistic and professional growth. NYFA envisions a world where being an artist or cultural worker is economically sustainable, valued, and celebrated.

For more information on NYFA’s Hall of Fame Benefit, please contact the Development Department at [email protected] or (212)366-6900 ext. 240.

2024 Hall of Fame Benefit

NYFA’s 13th annual Hall of Fame Benefit was held on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at Gotham Hall. We were thrilled to honor Nina Yankowitz (NYFA CAPS Fellow in Visual Art ’76) and Donna Uchizono (Fellow in Choreography ’96, ’00, ’04, ’08, ’19), as well as patron of the arts Rockefeller Capital Management.

NINA YANKOWITZ

Nina Yankowitz is a visual artist based in New York City. Emerging in the American counterculture era, Yankowitz was inspired by Greenwich Village’s music scene to merge visual and auditory elements in her art. In the late 1960s, she innovated with draped and pleated paintings, employing spray-painted mists on unstretched canvases to create dynamic, atmospheric works that defied convention. Her unique style gained recognition, leading to her participation in the inaugural 1973 Whitney Biennial exhibit with her Painted Canvas Thread/String Reading. In the mid-1970s, Yankowitz joined women to form a feminist ‘Mother Collective’ to create HERESIES a feminist publication on art and politics, challenging society’s injustices and a male-dominated art world. Her art continues to push boundaries, using interactive technology and projections to address societal issues. Yankowitz’s work promotes awareness about causal abrupt climate changes and her advocacy for “Unsung (S)heroes” and underserved community rights.

“We’re all in this together. Everything is collaborative. Nothing is singular, right? That’s how I feel. I’ve always felt that way. I’ve been influenced by very many brilliant women, unsung ‘sheroes’ in science. Because there’s so many, many women that have really shaped and changed this world.

DONNA UCHIZONO

Donna Uchizono is a dance artist based in New York City, and the artistic director of Donna Uchizono Company. Receiving public and critical recognition for her innovative movement language and distinct wit, Uchizono was commissioned to create work for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paula Vogel, Oskar Eustis, David Hammons, and Oliver Sacks. In 2011, after decades of critically acclaimed dance works that toured nationally and internationally, Uchizono was identified by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (NYPL) and Dance Heritage Coalition as a master choreographer whose works require preservation. Uchizono was recently distinguished by the NYPL as the first and only American-born choreographer of Asian ancestry in the history of Modern Dance to have received the recognition of both cumulative esteemed national awards, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship, “The “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance Award, and the significant national and international touring of an eponymous dance company.

I received my first NYFA in ’96. It was at a great, perfect time. There’s something about NYFA that comes at the perfect time, and it was just acknowledgement of ‘I’m an artist’ and that my work has value. Maybe my peers have respect for me, and that’s precious.

ROCKEFELLER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Rockefeller Capital Management (RCM) was established in 2018 as a leading independent financial advisory services company. The firm’s support for the arts and art education around the world continues a tradition dating back to its historic roots. It is currently partnering with NYFA to showcase works by NYFA-affiliated artists at 45 Rockefeller Plaza; the third installment of RCM x NYFA highlights a diverse group of artists, each distinct in their discipline and approach, spanning mediums like painting and sculpture. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D. Rockefeller, the firm includes three businesses – the Rockefeller Global Family Office, Rockefeller Asset Management, and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory. It offers strategic advice and services to ultra- and high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations from locations across the United States and in London. Gregory J. Fleming, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockefeller Capital Management, accepted on behalf of RCM.

David Rockefeller Jr.’s vision, which NYFA has helped us to realize, was to bring vibrant art, and a diverse, eclectic set of artists into our offices and do it in a way that’s impactful.