Cherry Jones Honored at A.R.T./New York Gala June 13

The Tony Award-winning Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York, www.art-newyork.org) will honor three New York City theatre community stars during its 2011 Spring Gala on June 13 at 3LD in lower Manhattan: Pioneer in corporate philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase Ed Jones, Tony/Emmy Award-winning actress Cherry Jones, and Virginia P. Louloudes for her 20 years of service as Executive Director of A.R.T./New York, the service and advocacy organization for the City's nonprofit theaters.

Held at 3LD Art & Technology Center, the gala will kick off at 6:30pm with a cocktail reception and silent auction, followed by dinner service, entertainment by special guests and the Presentation of Awards. In addition to the silent auction, an online auction including some of the hard-to-get items will be live from May 27 to June 8.

Featured auction items include Four Viewing Passes for the Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a Role as a Featured Extra on CBS-TV's Blue Bloods, Two Luxury Suite tickets to the US Open Tennis Tournament, Pulitzer Prize-winning plays signed by the playwrights, and a reservation for two at New York City's legendary Rao's Restaurant.

The 2011 Kathy and Howard J. Aibel Award will be presented to Ed Jones, who recently retired as Vice President of Philanthropic Services at JPMorgan Chase Bank. In his 25-year career, Ed distributed tens of millions of dollars to hundreds of arts organizations, from large capital projects to helping small organizations develop new programming instrumental to their growth.

The 2011 Abe L. Blinder Award will be presented to award-winning actress Cherry Jones, who won Tony Awards for her performances in "The Heiress" and "Doubt" and an Emmy for her role in "24" . The New York Times said "Ms. Jones' talent, industry, and dedication to the stage over the last decade make her a prime candidate for the honorary title of "leading lady" of the American Theatre." Offstage, she has long worked as an advocate for the arts and gay rights.

A.R.T./New York's Board of Directors will present a special honor to Virginia Louloudes in celebration of her 20 years as Executive Director. Under her dynamic leadership, A.R.T./New York has grown into an organization that is nationally recognized for its progressive programs and services for the New York City theatre community. Among her many accomplishments is the creation of two affordable shared office and rehearsal space facilities - South Oxford Space, a historic beaux art building in Brooklyn, and Spaces @ 520, representing a total of 45 office spaces and seven rehearsal and meeting spaces - which are being replicated nationwide. Their success inspired the City of New York to invite A.R.T./New York to take on the design, construction, and management of two flexible 99-seat theatres, which will open in 2013. After September 11, 2001 in support of the downtown theatres she secured a multi-million dollar Mellon Foundation grant to assist in their recovery.

About A.R.T./New York
A.R.T./New York is the service and advocacy organization for more than 300 member theatres New York City's not-for-profit theatre community. Founded in 1972, A.R.T./New York assists its member theatres in managing their companies effectively so they may realize their rich artistic visions and serve their diverse audiences well. Among their achievements over the years, A.R.T./New York was awarded the 2010 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

A.R.T./New York 2011 Spring Gala Event Information
Date: Monday, June 13
Time: 6:30pm
Venue: 3LD Art & Technology Center, 80 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10006
Tickets from $500 - $1,000; Tables from $10,000 - $20,000
Online Auction: Now through June 8
Additional Information: www.art-newyork.org/gala

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