NYFA Hall of Fame Inducts James Casebere, Anna Deavere Smith, Faith Ringgold & Zhou Long

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is celebrating the induction of four outstanding artists into the NYFA Hall of Fame during its annual benefit tonight, April 12, 2016, at 583 Park Avenue. The evening's honorees are James Casebere, Faith Ringgold, Anna Deavere Smith, and Zhou Long. Celebrations kick off with Art & Cocktails at 6:30 PM followed by Dinner & Honors at 7:30 PM. Attire is festive cocktail.

Established in 2011, the NYFA Hall of Fame recognizes extraordinary artists, arts patrons and organizations who through their artistic vision and uncompromising integrity represent the best that NYFA has to offer. As an organization NYFA is at the forefront of supporting artists in the early stages of their careers, often acknowledging their work before popular acclaim.

NYFA is proud to present this year's honorees and celebrate their impact in the art world:

Visual artist James Casebere pioneered working with constructed photography and received three NYFA Fellowships for Sculpture and Photography starting in 1989. For the last forty years, Casebere has devised increasingly complex models that are subsequently photographed in his studio. His work has been collected by museums worldwide, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Artist, writer and activist Faith Ringgold has received more than 75 awards, fellowships, citations and honors, including a NYFA Fellowship for Painting in 1988, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Fellowship for painting, two National Endowment for the Arts Awards, and 23 honorary doctorates. Best known for her painted story quilts, her works are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Well known for her roles in Nurse Jackie, The West Wing and Philadelphia, Anna Deavere Smith is the first NYFA fiscally sponsored artist to be inducted into the NYFA Hall of Fame for the Anna Deavere Smith Pipeline Project that examines the school to prison pipeline. She has created over 15 one-person shows based on hundreds of interviews, most of which deal with social issues. In 2013 she received the National Humanities Medal, was the 2015 Jefferson Lecturer for the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was a 1996 MacArthur Fellow.

Zhou Long is the first Asian American to win the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his opera, Madame White Snake, and received a NYFA Fellowship for Music Composition in 2000. Dr. Zhou also received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award. He is a recipient of commissions and fellowships from the Guggenheim, Koussevitzky and Fromm Foundations, and various institutions around the world.

NYFA Executive Director Michael L. Royce states, "This year's honorees will be joining artists such as Suzan-Lori Parks, Mira Nair, and Elliot Goldenthal among others in NYFA's Hall of Fame. These exceptional artists inspire us every day to continue our organization's encouragement and support of tomorrow's outstanding artists."

The benefit's sponsors and donors include Sean Kelly Gallery, ACA Galleries, Lisson Gallery, Two Trees Management Co., Judith K. Brodsky, Agnes Gund, Marc Jason & Nina Manasan Greenberg, J. Whitney Stevens, and a special donation in honor of artist and teacher Murray Reich.

The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) was founded in 1971 to empower artists at critical stages in their creative lives. Each year NYFA awards $650,000 in cash grants to individual artists in all artistic disciplines. NYFA's fiscal sponsorship program is one of the oldest and most reputable in the country and helps artists and organizations raise and manage an average of $4 million annually. NYFA Learning programs provide thousands of artists with professional development training and support, and NYFA's website, NYFA.org, received over 1.2 million visitors last year and has information about more than 12,000 opportunities and resources available to artists in all disciplines.

Pictured: James Casebere, Faith Ringgold, Anna Deavere Smith and Zhou Long

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