On April 11, a constellation of stars gathered on the Dance Theatre of Harlem–the nation’s first Black ballet firm–for the annual Imaginative and prescient Gala, a fundraiser supporting Dance Theatre of Harlem’s 56-year legacy. Throughout the occasion, with the theme of “Boldly Ahead,” Ford Basis President Darren Walker was celebrated as this yr’s Arthur Mitchell Imaginative and prescient Award honoree, and over $1.3 million was raised to help the enduring dance firm’s legacy.
Ava DuVernay, Misty Copeland, superstar stylist Regulation Roach, and Dance Theatre Of Harlem creative director, Robert Garland had been amongst a number of celebs who attended the distinguished ceremony. One of many night’s standout moments was the presentation of the Arthur Mitchell Imaginative and prescient Award to Darren Walker. As president of the $16 billion Ford Basis, Walker has been a driving power behind efforts to advance social justice by way of group activism, the humanities, and equitable enterprise practices.
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The celebrated award—named in honor of the late Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founder Arthur Mitchell—acknowledged Walker’s far-reaching impression throughout each the philanthropic and cultural landscapes.
Beneath his management, the Ford Basis grew to become the primary nonprofit in U.S. historical past to challenge a $1 billion social bond within the capital markets–an unprecedented transfer aimed toward stabilizing and supporting nonprofit organizations through the COVID-19 disaster, in keeping with the group’s web site. A visionary within the artwork world, Walker additionally co-founded the Artwork for Justice Fund and holds board positions with main establishments together with the Lincoln Middle for the Performing Arts, the Nationwide Gallery of Artwork, the Excessive Line, the Committee to Shield Journalists, and the Smithsonian Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past & Tradition.
Ava DuVernay introduced the Arthur Mitchell Imaginative and prescient Award.
Whereas presenting the changemaker together with his award, DuVernay described Walker because the “rarest sort of visionary, not the type who calls for the highlight, however the form who holds it up for others. Who goals it in the direction of artists, in the direction of activists, in the direction of individuals whose voices have been too lengthy unheard, whose tales need to be heart stage.”
The 52-year-old filmmaker added, “He’s a champion of the Dance Theatre of Harlem—how may he not be? He’s all the time seen the sweetness and the daring, the precision within the daring, and the grace within the struggle.”
Misty Copeland gave an inspiring speech.
Copeland, the 2024 recipient of the Arthur Mitchell Imaginative and prescient Award, paid tribute to the Dance Theatre of Harlem for paving the best way for ballerinas of coloration like herself. She made historical past in 2015 as the primary Black lady to be named principal dancer on the American Ballet Theatre. In her remarks, Copeland expressed gratitude to the corporate’s late founder, Arthur Mitchell, for championing alternative and variety on the earth of dance.
“Dance Theatre of Harlem has all the time been greater than a ballet firm. It has been a beacon for me and for therefore many dancers of coloration,” Copeland shared. “It stood as a reminder that we belong on this artwork type, that our presence on the stage is highly effective, mandatory, and exquisite, our commensurate, and now beneath the management of Robert Garland and Anna Glass, DTH continues to indicate the world what ballet could be when it’s daring, inclusive, and visionary.”
The power within the room soared towards the tip of the evening when Government Director Anna Glass and host Kenny Burns introduced that not solely had the $1.3 million fundraising purpose been met—it had been exceeded, with an extra $132,000 raised reside within the room, sending a wave of pleasure and celebration by way of the group.
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