The Phillips Collection Hosts 2024 Annual Gala: Looking Forward, Forward Looking
Champions of Washington, DC’s artistic community to be honored on May 10
WASHINGTON, DC—Art, community, and excitement for the future will be the highlight of The Phillips Collection 2024 Annual Gala: Looking Forward, Forward Looking on May 10. The elegant and enriching sold-out evening in the Phillips’s galleries celebrates the museum’s commitment to education, community engagement, and cultural diplomacy. This year’s theme reflects the Phillips’s role as a museum for the future that supports and learns from artists, and that cultivates authentic partnerships with individuals and organizations in Washington and beyond.
“When Duncan Phillips opened his family home to the public in 1921, he did so to create a collection and museum that would evolve and grow stronger in full view of the public,” says Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock. “In that same spirit, this year’s theme is Looking Forward, Forward Looking. It highlights our commitment to build on the legacy of the first 100 years of the Phillips and to move us, creatively and strategically, forward—by supporting and learning from artists, with partnerships in communities in Washington and beyond, and through deeply impactful education and responsive learning programs.”
Bringing together government and diplomatic figures, business leaders, philanthropists, artists, and leaders of the Washington, DC community, The Phillips Collection’s Annual Gala honors esteemed individuals whose commitment to the arts is exemplified in their endeavors. This year, the museum will celebrate Sylvia Snowden, acclaimed Washington, DC-based painter; 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. While paying tribute to the evening’s honorees, guests will dine in the museum’s galleries surrounded by works from the distinguished collection. The celebrations will continue with an After Party featuring live music from DC Fusion, art activations, and more.
To date, the 2024 Annual Gala has raised over $700,000 to support the Phillips’s innovative and expansive education, community engagement, and DEAI (diversity, equity, accessibility, inclusion) initiatives, bolstering the museum’s ability to expand the definition of the museum experience and to enrich lives through art. These include K–12 arts integration in education; creative aging through therapeutic art and wellness programs; and partnerships through Phillips@THEARC, the museum’s satellite space in the Town Hall Education and Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) located in Southeast DC.
LOCATION
The Phillips Collection
1600 21st St, NW Washington, DC 20009
6:30–9 pm | Reception, dinner, and program
Sold out | Make a donation
9 pm–Midnight | After Party
Purchase After Party tickets
(Available to members and friends of members only)
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. 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
As of April 18, 2024
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
Embassy of the State of Qatar
Ednah Root Foundation
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 COVERAGE
High-resolution press images are available upon request. Press interested in covering the Cocktail Party or After Party must contact Lauryn Cantrell lcantrell@phillipscollection.org by May 7 to apply for credentials.
IMAGE: Linling Lu, One Hundred Melodies of Solitude, No. 99, 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 93 x 93 x 2 in., The Phillips Collection, The Dreier Fund for Acquisitions, 2023, Photo: AK Blythe.
ABOUT THE IMAGE
Linling Lu’s One Hundred Melodies of Solitude is part of the series that was featured in her Soundwaves exhibition on view in Spring 2023. The artworks were created in response to a Phillips Music performance of Philip Glass’s Etude no. 16 performed by pianist Timo Andres in 2015, demonstrating the direct connection between the visual arts and music. The vibrating colors of Lu’s abstractions recall the Washington Color School and the many modern and contemporary acquisitions that build on Duncan Phillips’s intense love for color and art with contemplative qualities. This artwork is the first by a Chinese-born American woman artist to enter the collection and the first acquisition by Vradenburg Director & CEO Jonathan P. Binstock following his arrival in March 2023. Acquisitions like Lu’s reflect the Phillips’s efforts to enhance and diversify the collection by embracing works by living artists that speak to the communities the museum serves.
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.