The Phillips Collection Celebrated its 2024 Annual Gala, Settings its Sights Toward the Future
The event raised over $760,000 to benefit the museum’s education and public initiatives and honored champions of Washington, DC’s artistic community
WASHINGTON, DC—The Phillips Collection 2024 Annual Gala: Looking Forward, Forward Looking celebrated the museum’s commitment to education, community engagement, cultural diplomacy, and the exploration of modern and contemporary art. This year’s theme reflected the Phillips’s role as a museum for the future that supports and learns from artists and cultivates authentic partnerships with communities in Washington, DC, and beyond. The Gala raised over $760,000 to support the Phillips’s interdisciplinary education and community engagement initiatives grounded in principles of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion to enrich lives, strengthen connections with new and existing audiences, and uphold a dynamic museum environment.
“The excellence of our public engagement is as important to who we are and what we do as the internationally celebrated excellence of our exhibitions and permanent collection,” says Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock. “We are grateful to our donors, Trustees, and community for supporting what we do—at The Phillips Collection, Phillips@THEARC, and beyond—to demonstrate the profound relevance of the role of art in people’s lives and in strengthening civil society.”
The night honored esteemed individuals who exemplify a commitment to the advancement and understanding of art and its far-reaching impact. The museum honored Sylvia Snowden, acclaimed Washington, DC-based painter, whose work George Chavis (1984) was recently acquired by the Phillips; Reginald Van Lee, Chairperson of the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and nationally respected arts advocate and philanthropist; and Alan Wurtzel, Trustee Emeritus of The Phillips Collection, and his wife, Irene Wurtzel, dedicated arts philanthropists.
The Gala brought together more than 380 guests, including Members of Congress and the diplomatic corps, corporate executives, artists, philanthropists, humanitarians, national media, leaders within the Washington, DC, community, and friends of the Phillips. The Phillips Collection’s programs were spotlighted throughout the evening, including décor modeled after art by participants in the museum’s Creative Aging and school partnerships. Following a cocktail hour in the courtyard and galleries, guests dined among the Phillips’s renowned collection. DC Fusion headlined the After Party at the museum, entertaining guests with a night of dancing.
Special guests included: The Phillips Collection’s Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock; Gala Co-Chairs Beatriz Bolton and Judy Pomeranz; The Phillips Collection Director Emerita Dorothy Kosinski; Phillips Board Chair John Despres; Phillips Chair Emeritus George Vradenburg; artist Sylvia Snowden; Chairperson of the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities Reginald Van Lee; Phillips Trustee Emeritus Alan Wurtzel, and wife, Irene Wurtzel; H.E. Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the US; US Representative Michael Turner; US Representative Don Beyer; Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Czech Republic Jan Havranek; Cultural Counselor at the Embassy of Spain Miguel Albero; Chief of Staff to Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries Tasia Jackson; artists Jae Ko, Linling Lu, Dindga McCannon, Bernardí Roig, Renée Stout, and Joyce Wellman; Adrienne Arsht; former Ambassador to Russian Federation, 1997-2001 James F. Collins; former US Representative Jim Moran; Diane Rehms; Nina Totenberg.
2024 GALA HONOREES
Sylvia Snowden, DC-based artist
Reginald Van Lee, Chairman, DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Alan & Irene Wurtzel, Trustee Emeritus and philanthropists, The Phillips Collection
CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
The Honorable Gerald Connolly
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
The Honorable Barbara Lee
The Honorable Lisa Murkowski
The Honorable Michael Turner
The Honorable Mark Warner
DIPLOMATIC COMMITTEE
H.E. Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the US
H.E. Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Ambassador of Iceland to the US
H. E. Francisco Duarte Lopes, Ambassador of Portugal to the US
H. E. Kirsten Hillman, Ambassador of Canada to the US
H.E. Ángeles Moreno, Ambassador of Spain to the US
Dame Karen Pierce DCMG, British Ambassador to the US
H. E. Jesper Sørensen, Ambassador of Denmark to the US
H. E. Miloslav Stašek, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the US
H.E. Shigeo Yamada, Ambassador of Japan to the US
ARTIST COMMITTEE
Jae Ko, Linling Lu, Dindga McCannon, Bernardí Roig, Renée Stout, Joyce Wellman
GALA COMMITTEE
Beatriz Bolton (Co-Chair), Judy Pomeranz (Co-Chair), Connie Carter, Julie Garcia, Barbara Hall, Barbara Hawthorn, Matthew Indre, Pam Kaplan, Jennifer Lavinbuk, Gail Lione, Sarah Mills, Ann Stock, Courtney Toomath-West
2024 GALA SPONSORS
Champion
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Judy Pomeranz
Partner
Altria Group
Beatriz and Graham Bolton
The Garcia Family Spotlight Foundation
Lugano Diamonds
Total Wine & More
Benefactor
The Dosal Family Foundation
Ednah Root Foundation
Embassy of the State of Qatar
Barbara Hawthorn and B. Thomas Mansbach
Kramer Levin
Risk Strategies Company
George Vradenburg, Vradenburg Foundation
Reid Walker
Supporter
ArentFox Schiff LLP and JM Zell Partners, LTD
Lisa Barry and James Gale
Chevy Chase Trust
Connie Carter, CØMPASS Real Estate
DLR Group
GRF CPAs & Advisors
Bonnie and Harold Himmelman
Gail Lione and Barry Grossman
Pathstone
Roger Sant and Doris Matsui
Beth and Kevin Smithson
WC Smith
PRESS IMAGES
High-resolution press images are available are available here. Please contact Lauryn Cantrell, lcantrell@phillipscollection.org for questions.
IMAGE: The Phillips Collection 2024 Annual Gala, Photo by Annette Lee.
ABOUT THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
The Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art, was founded in 1921. The museum houses one of the world’s most celebrated Impressionist and American modern art collections and continues to grow its collection with important contemporary voices. Its distinctive building combines extensive new galleries with the former home of its founder, Duncan Phillips. The Phillips’s impact spreads nationally and internationally through its diverse and experimental special exhibitions and events, including its award-winning education programs for educators, students, and adults; renowned Phillips Music series; and dynamic art and wellness and Phillips after 5 events. The Phillips Collection’s extensive community partnerships include Phillips@THEARC, the museum’s satellite campus in Southeast DC. The Phillips Collection is a private, non-government museum, supported primarily by donations.