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Press Releases
National Sawdust 2019 Spring Gala: STRETCH Honored Black Thought, David Byrne & Juliette Jones
Black Thought Announced As Curator for Season Five
(New York, NY) May 8, 2010 — Last night, National Sawdust’s 2019 Spring Gala: Stretch was held at Sotheby’s; chaired by Model, Humanitiation, Social Activist, Filmmaker Gelila Bekele and Deputy Director of New Museum Karen Wong; hosted by Composer, National Sawdust Co-Founder, & Artistic Director Paola Prestini and National Sawdust President of the Board of Trustees Jill Steinberg, and raised funds to support the mission of the arts institution which ensures that National Sawdust will continue to build new audiences for classical and new music through supporting emerging artists, programming groundbreaking new music in their state-of-the-art Williamsburg venue, as well as developing and touring new, collaborative music-driven projects.
The evening honored Co-Founder, lead MC/singer of The Legendary Roots Crew and Grammy-winning musician, actor, and artist Black Thought; Oscar-, Grammy-, and Golden Globe–winning musician, writer, and artist, and founding member of the Talking Heads David Byrne; and Executive Vice President of Urban Promotion at Atlantic Records, one of Billboard’s Women in Music for 2018, and a 2018 Billboard Pioneers Juliette Jones. Each honoree is known for stretching the lens of artistic innovation. Much like National Sawdust, they consistently broaden the minds of audiences and reshape the definition of what is art. Black Thought and Byrne both forged singular paths with their tremendously unique and powerful views of the world. As a woman of color in a sphere dominated by white men, Jones has demonstrated immeasurable strength through rising to the top of her field. She has opened paths for many with ease and a steadied clarity of determination. Additionally, as a surprise to gala guests, Black Thought was announced as a curator for National Sawdust’s upcoming fifth season.
Surrounded by art curated for auction by Sotheby’s in their newly-reimagined galleries by Shohei Shigematsu, those who attended the gala were among the first to see the masterpieces from their Spring sales of Impressionist and Modern Art and Contemporary Art. Additionally, the event featured thrilling performances that included beatboxing from Gene Shinozaki and Chris Celiz during cocktails; a new composition from electronic music producer, musician, and DJ Gavin Rayna Russom; a tribute to Jones from rapper Wale; an invocation based upon the traditional hymn “Amazing Grace” from bass-baritone Davóne Tines performed with Face the Music (Kaufman Music Center); David Byrne with Mauro Refosco and Brooklyn Youth Chorus performed Byrne and Brian Eno’s “One Fine Day;” a tribute to Byrne from guitarist, bassist, producer Angie Swan; violinist and composer Pauchi Sasaki livescored “Kipatsi, Nija, Añaantsi (Land, Water, Life)” from director Murat Eyuboglu’s upcoming eco-documentary The Amazon; a tribute to Black Thought from award-winning photographer and artist Carrie Mae Weems; curated by Black Thought, rapper Sa-Roc took the stage with Dayramir González, Taja Cheek (L’Rain), Jeffrey Zeigler, and Sean Dixon; steel pan player and composer Andy Akiho and poet Roger Bonair-Agard’s presented Aka | Burn, Build from the touring National Sawdust Project (M)iyamoto is Black Enough that also featured Dixon on drums and Zeigler on cello; and an rousing surprise finale presentation of artist, poet, vocalist, composer, and musician Benjamin Clementine's Nemesis was performed by actress, dancer, and singer Helga Davis with González and Dixon.
Co-chairs for the evening were Lynn A. Calpeter, Rick D’Avino, Kevin Dolan, Jill Steinberg, and Ann Ziff. The benefit committee was Elizabeth Madigan Jost, Harvey Mogenson, Catriona Mordant AM and Simon Mordant AM, Ellen O’Brien Kelly, Kristin Sebastian and Alberto Cribiore, and Robert L. Turner.
Support for the gala was graciously provided by Sotheby’s, Atlantic Records, Hermès of Paris and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The official rideshare sponsor for the evening was Lyft.
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About National Sawdust
National Sawdust is a non-profit music venue whose mission is to build new audiences for classical and new music by providing outstanding resources and programmatic support to both emerging and established artists and composers. Centered upon discovery, National Sawdust’s programming introduces audiences to new artists and styles, and introduces artists to new audiences. An incubator of new music, National Sawdust also provides artists the space, time, and resources they need to create their art.
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