While I’m no stranger to Miami, this was my first time going to Art Basel and after the amazing time that city showed me I’m going back every year. It’s an amazing week when the art world (with a high population of New Yorkers) takes over Miami, bringing the fashion community with them. My days were spent at art shows, followed by drinks poolside with event, after event, after party to go to. While I need an entire blog post dedicated to all of the art conventions here are some of the best moments from independent art shows to epic Versace Mansion parties!
1. Elementals @The Ad Oasis – Hosted by Adrian Grenier at the James Royal Palm Hotel, the works of Sarah Reynolds, Shepard Fairey, Greg Auerback, Mr. Brainwash, Meagan Donegan, Jade Doskow, Greg Haberny, Naomi Reis were all on display. I was so excited to attend and support my friend, Sarah Reynolds at her show, especially given one of my other friends ended up purchasing both of her exceptional art pieces in the show. (Meeting Adrian Grenier and Shepard Fairey wasn’t too shabby either).
I cover a lot of charities on this site since giving back is important to me and I’m constantly amazed by the amount of press releases I receive with brands showing their support by donating to various causes. So to show my support, I thought I would do a sum up of the recent ones I’ve received.
NYU Annual Premiere Benefit Fashion Show EXPO 2011 – Friday April 29th, 3PM (day show), 7:30PM (evening show). All of the proceeds from the show will benefit Hamilton-Madison House, a nonprofit community center that caters to low-income households in NYC.
If you can’t make the show, you can still get involved. EXPO 2011 has partnered with GoodSearch. Anyone online can download the GoodSearch toolbar, specify “New York University – NYU EXPO – Hamilton Madison House” as the chosen charity, and each time that they use the toolbar to search the internet, Hamilton-Madison House benefits. For more information visit http://www.exponyu.com/
UNICEF Tap Project – Celebrities, including Selena Gomez, Adrian Grenier, Dwight Howard, Rihanna, Robin Williams and Taylor Swift have joined forces with the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to engage consumers in a conversation about the lack of access to safe, clean water for nearly 900 million children and adults across the globe. The UNICEF Tap Project is a public service campaign that aims to draw attention to this serious issue and encourage the public to take action to reduce the numbers of children dying daily from waterborne illnesses, the second-highest cause of preventable childhood deaths in the world. Considering $1 provides clean water for a child for 40 days –imagine the difference you can make! Get involved at http://tapproject.org/
Solid Ground Initiative T-Shirt
Solid Ground Initiative – Design Lab NYC, the boutique philanthropic design agency, has partnered with 12 influential Japanese artists located in Japan and NY to create a t-shirt design collection that tells the human side of the recent disaster. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shirts will go to relief organizations working in Japan. Shirts are available in both childrens and unisex adult sizes. For more information visit http://www.solidgroundinitiative.com/
TEMPTU, the worldwide leader in airbrush makeup, announced earlier this month that they will donate $100 from every online sale of their AIRbrush Makeup System and TEMPTU PRO Compressors and Kits through March 31, 2011 to the American Red Cross for Japan relief efforts.
Civic Duty Shoes
Civic Duty Shoes– I recently discovered this awesome new sneaker line that donates 100% of the profits to a social cause benefiting those in the US. They’re made out of Tyvek, which is that same material used for FedEx envelopes, so awesome! Learn more at http://www.civicdutyshoes.com/
Jac Vanek & We The Kings "We Love Japan" Bracelet
Cutting edge clothing and accessories designer, Jac Vanek has teamed up with the band, We The Kings to create a “We Love Japan” bracelet ($10). 100% of all proceeds go towards relief efforts in Japan, Learn more HERE
Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry will auction off a collection of personalized items including items from her latest fragrance campaign, Reveal by Halle Berry in
Take a queue from Scott Harrison (Founder of charity: water) and Sean Parker (Napster Co-Founder, Founding President of Facebook, Chairman and Co-Founder of Causes) and consider asking your friends to donate to a worthy cause instead of gifts.
CHARITY: WATER
Founded by Scott Harrison, charity: water is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing clean and safe drinking water to people globally. He launched this project on his birthday in September 2006, and asked guests to donate $15 instead of giving him presents. That evening, Scott raised $15,000, and charity: water was born. It’s been a recurring event ever since. This birthday campaign has become such a success, between Scott’s birthday and those who followed suit, they were able to raise $965,000.
Join Scott Harrison and host Adrian Grenier for the charity: ball 2009. Monday, December 14th, 7pm. For more information and to buy tickets click HERE
Don’t have the funds? Donate your time (or both). Charity Water is always looking for volunteers. That’s what I’m doing, so I hope you’ll join me at the charity: ball or at future volunteer nights. Visit charitywater.org for more information.
MALARIA NO MORE
In celebration of his birthday, Sean Parker threw a benefit for Malaria No More, the non-profit organization dedicated to ending malaria deaths, by asking for donations instead of gifts.
On a beauty note, Sean has really good taste in skin care, sporting Molton Brown’s Naran Ji Fine Liquid Hand Wash and Soothing Hand Lotion in his guest bathroom. A celebrity studded birthday and I’m taking pictures of his hand soap…go figure!
While I’m no stranger to Miami, this was my first time going to Art Basel and after the amazing time that city showed me I’m going back every year. It’s an amazing week when the art world (with a high population of New Yorkers) takes over Miami, bringing the fashion community with them. My days were spent at art shows, followed by drinks poolside with event, after event, after party to go to. While I need an entire blog post dedicated to all of the art conventions here are some of the best moments from independent art shows to epic Versace Mansion parties!
