All round amazing guy Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks finally won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. May we add the first New York Knick to ever win the award. The award is sponsored by Kia, which donated a new Sorento CUV on Chandler’s behalf to Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. We can not say enough about Tyson and his family, including his wife Kimberly amazing woman herself!

Tyson has “a deep love and passion for young people and for Art and has been chroniciling his first year with the Knicks through photo’s so this is a perfect confluence of passions!” Marvet Britto, CEO of The Britto Agency. We are soo happy to have Tyson and his family part of the Rush Family! From All of us at Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation and all our Rush Kids….THANK YOU!!!!!!! #RushLOVE

Ubuntu Charity Benefit, Art Show and Film Screening to benefit Russell Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation

PHOTOS: Roderick Hunt
RoderickAlan.com | @RodNotRob

Last Thursday at the historic LA Artcore Gallery & Art Center in downtown Los Angeles, over 200 guests enjoyed the sights and sounds of Africa during the Ubuntu Charity Benefit – an art exhibit, film screening and live auction featuring emerging African artists.

A portion of the night’s proceeds have been donated to Russell Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Art Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering emerging and underrepresented artists.

Celebrities who came out to support the cause included: Actress Meagan Good (“Think Like A Man”), actress Tatyana Ali (TV One sitcom “Love That Girl” & “The Young and the Restless”), actress Reagan Gomez-Preston (“What Goes Around Comes Around,” “Love,Inc”), film producer Brett Ratner (“Prison Break,” “Horrible Bosses”), actor Quinton Aaron (lead male in “The Blind Side”), recording artistGoapele (“Break of Dawn”), actress/singer Shvona Lavette (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Lincoln Heights,” album 3 Percent & Rising), actress Eva Amurri Martino (“Californication,” “How I Met Your Mother”), actress Liz Fuller (“CSI,” “Road To Juarez”), author, music and film producer Quincy “QD3” Jones (“The Carter” documentary, Tupac’s “To Live and Die In LA”), actress Gloria Huwiler (“Awaken”), Kenyan actor Oliver Litondo (“The First Grader”, which has been nominated for an NAACP Award), producerRichard Harding and Sam Feuer (“The First Grader”) and John Rubey, President AEG Network LIVE.

Throughout the night, guests enjoyed live performances from music and dance troupe Balle Fette bu Senegal, a screening of the critically-acclaimed BAFTA-nominated short film “Mwansa The Great”, a pristine exhibit of African art and a live auction benefiting the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s Artist in Residency program.

The exhibit and live auction featured pieces from Los Angeles artist Azul “213” Amaral, award winning Zambian artists Mwamba Mulangala, Starry Mwaba, Vincentio Phiri, Lutanda Mwamba, Geoffrey Phiri, veteran artist and curator William Bwalya Miko, and Zambian sculptors The Zeta Brothers andRikki Lungu.

Event organizers Gloria Huwiler and Tulsi Karpio produced the Ubuntu Charity Benefit as an effort to promote diversity in the film and art community by showcasing work from talented African artists. Gloria Huwiler is an actress and philanthropist dedicated to promoting performing and fine artists in Africa. Raised in Zambia, she has a deep commitment to developing artistic work from Africa, and helping the careers of fellow creators on the continent. Tulsi Karpio has worked extensively in the art and philanthropic worlds, curating and promoting Latin American Art.

Sponsors for the night included: Supperclub, Remy Martin, Highland Park, The Macallan and Brugal, Ford Models, Mike Vensel, Blissmo, AEG, Lafarge and Joumana Rizk.

The auction to raise money for the Artist in Residentcy program at Rush Philanthropic Art Foundation is still open. Anyone interested in the pieces should visit http://www.rushphilanthropic.org/

“I am honored that the Ubuntu Charity Benefit has chosen Rush Philanthropic as this year’s beneficiary.  The old Ubuntu adage that “I am because you are” has never been more true.  When we acknowledge the connectedness of all of us, and sow good seeds by supporting emerging artists, we uplift and empower entire communities,” says Russell Simmons, Rush Philanthropic Co-founder.

The fundraising portion of the benefit features an art-themed live auction benefiting the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s Artist in Residency program. For one year, an African artist will be chosen to train and gain exposure at the Rush Galleries in New York, made possible by the Artist in Residency opportunity. The exhibit and live auction features pieces from Los Angeles artist Azul “213” Amaral, local artist/actor Rockmond Dunbar, award winning Zambian artists Mwamba Mulangala, Starry Mwaba, Vincentio Phiri, Lutanda Mwamba, Geoffrey Phiri, veteran artist and curator William Bwalya Miko, and Zambian sculptors The Zeta Brothers and Rikki Lungu.

Proceeds benefit the Rush Philanthropic Arts Education & Gallery Programs

Source: Fusicology

Please Join Russell Simmons, Danny Simmons and the

Board of Directors of Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation for

Rush HeARTS Education
A Valentine’s Day luncheon to benefit Rush’s Education Programs

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

11:30am – 2pm

The Plaza
Fifth Avenue at Central Park South
New York, NY 10019

Featuring
The Amazing Rush Kids

Hosted By
Soledad O’Brien

Music By

DJ MOS and DJ Kiss

Honorary Chairs

Justine & Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons

Individual tickets $350. Tables of ten $3,500 & up.

For Table/Sponsorship opportunities please contact Agent of Change at 212.643.2060

or email rushrsvp@aocnetwork.com For tickets visit Boomset at http://www.boomset.com/rush

Since 1995 Rush Philanthropic has worked tirelessly in support of its mission to provide emerging artists with exposure and exhibition opportunities, and to provide underserved youth with invaluable arts education experiences. Today, our Rush Education Programs serve 2300 public school children. Our programs are designed to inspire students, provide positive alternatives to high-risk behaviors, and support increased academic performance. Rush is proud of its success to date and looks toward a future in which our programs grow to encompass more children and artists, and we can continue to enhance access to arts institutions and arts experiences for minority and economically disadvantaged populations. The Rush HeARTS Education luncheon will allow us to grow our programs making this bright future we envision a reality.

Saturday was a busy day for fund-raisers in the Hamptons. In addition to the daylong designer garage sale Super Saturday and the Watermill Center’s annual summer shindig, music mogul Russell Simmons gathered supporters at his East Hampton estate for the 12th iteration of his foundation’s Art for Life benefit. Inspired by the traditional hues of Buddhist monk robes, the evening saw a color scheme of saffron yellow, magenta, and mango orange, as well as Asian entertainment and paper parasols painted with Asian-style designs by children in the Rush Kids programs—prompting the organizers to dub the event’s theme “The Zen of Giving.”

In addition to raising funds to support arts education and gallery programs for New York City youth, the event for the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation also honored singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige, actor Edward Norton, JPMorgan Chase Foundation president Kimberly B. Davis, nutritionist Oz Garcia, and Jimmy Choo founder and chief creative officer Tamara Mellon for their work and charity efforts. Overseeing the fund-raiser was the foundation’s executive director Tangie Murray and director of special events and strategic marketing Vanessa Rodriguez. CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien and The View’s Star Jones served as the hosts to an audience that included high-profile names like Gayle King, Taraji P. Henson, and Djimon Hounsou.

Aside from the decor elements by Sutka Productions and Asian-themed entertainers from Ten31 Productions, the event produced by Ronnie Davis Productions saw a couple of changes this year. With the summers becoming increasingly warm, the organizers decided to add air-conditioning to the 13,000-square-foot tent that served as the dinner space, an additional first-time expense they saw necessary to ensure the comfort of patrons. Another first was incorporating more performances, opening the program with violinist Miri Ben-Ari, bringing in mentalist Lior Suchard during dinner, and capping off the evening with a special performance by Jennifer Hudson.

To extend the auction to a much wider audience, the foundation did away with the event’s traditional live auction, placing the items online at charitybuzz.com, starting more than two weeks before the benefit on July 13; the auction will remain open until August 10. However, one live auction component was kept: the element that asked patrons to donate $1,000 to support a year’s worth of arts education programming for one child. Rush Kids auctioneer Star Jones helped push this segment, which raised more than $250,000.

Art for Life has raised more than $1.4 million to date, and those that didn’t make it to the event could text “Rush” to 50555 to make a $10 donation.

—Anna Sekula

BizBash

By BEE-SHYUAN CHANG

RUSSELL SIMMONS sat cross-legged, yogi style, in his wood-shingled portico, watching as the first guests strutted for the cameras. He was a lone beacon of Zen, as some 700 partygoers swarmed his estate in East Hampton, N.Y., last Saturday for the annual Art of Life Benefit.

“Summer has been going by so quickly,” Mr. Simmons said. “But it’s been good — I’ve had a lot of time with the kids. We spent yesterday up in their new treehouse.”

Camouflaged by a circle of leafy trees, the lofty perch would have been the ideal vantage point to view the brouhaha below.

The benefit, now in its 12th year, has evolved from an intimate hoedown to a big-ticket soiree, with proceeds supporting arts programs for New York City students. Mr. Simmons was not the only one channeling inner peace. The theme was the Zen of giving, and the grounds included Asian-style ponds, a Ganesh with pearl necklaces and performers in Beijing opera costumes.

Not everyone minded the décor. “This is a sexy event,” said Dhani Jones, an N.F.L. free agent and a budding television personality, as he surveyed the never-ending parade of leggy models in minidresses. Mr. Jones had a more casual look: untucked short sleeve shirt with flip-flops, which he justified with the heat. “Everybody is all dressed up, they’re going to start sweating,” he said. “I’m chilling.”

Luckily, the always-chill host was prepared. A massive tent was erected on the lawn, with the air-conditioning cranked up to Defcon 1. That kept the night’s honorees — including Edward Norton, Mary J. Blige and Jimmy Choo’s Tamara Mellon — cool during the cocktail hour and silent auction, which featured donated artworks by heavy hitters like Ross Bleckner, Donald Baechler and Yoko Ono.

With famous faces milling about, guests in social purgatory ignored their table assignments, and hopped from table to table, trying to get closer to the celebrity action up front.

As dinner was served — summer squash and curried cauliflower, followed by short ribs and poached salmon — Kimora Lee Simmons, Mr. Simmons’s ex-wife, took her seat at Table 40, with her husband, Djimon Hounsou, and her brood of three. She was joined by Mr. Norton, who was seated between the actress Melissa George and his fiancée, Shauna Robertson, a film producer.

Mr. Norton wasn’t in the mood for banter, but perked up on the topic of Jennifer Hudson’s scheduled performance. “I’ve never seen her perform before — at least not live,” the actor said. “She’s amazing.”

She didn’t disappoint. As guests nibbled on crisp and pecan pie, a svelte Ms. Hudson took to the stage in an off-white Lela Rose frock with netted overlay and belted out a three-song set. Her closer, a stirring rendition of the “Dreamgirls” song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” brought guests like Gayle King and Donna Karan to their feet.

Afterward, partygoers flooded the dance floor, set up just below the stage. Old-school R & B hits shook the tent and served as its own kind of caffeine. Ms. Simmons swayed in a tight leopard-print dress and sang along to Bobby Brown’s “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Even Mr. Simmons was drawn out of his monklike calm. Looking sharp in a beige suit, orange gingham button-down and pristine white Adidas sneakers, he hit the dance floor with Ms. George, and for a flashing moment, looked like a guru — the hip-hop sort.

New York Times

NEW YORK, NY.- Shepard Fairey, one of today’s most influential street artists, is joining Russell Simmons, Danny Simmons and more than a dozen other acclaimed artists, to raise funds for RUSH Philanthropic through the 4th Annual Art for Life Online Auction at leading online charity auction site charitybuzz.com.

Fairey has donated a beautiful hand-painted multiple of Madala Ornament I. The piece is a 38” x 51” silkscreen and mixed media collage on paper. Fairey’s work is up for auction at charitybuzz.com through Wednesday, August 10th. The work is valued at $12,000 with bidding up to $11,453 as of August 5th

This year’s Art for Life Online Auction features Works on Paper from some of the art world’s most celebrated names: Donald Baechler, Sanford Biggers, Ross Bleckner, John Chamberlain, Chuck Close, Eric Fischl, April Gornik, Jenny Holzer, Brice Marden, Victor Matthews, Julie Mehretu, Toyin Odutola, Yoko Ono, David Salle, Danny Simmons, Peter Soriano, Peter Tunney, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, and Terry Winters. The auction also features exclusive auction lots from celebrities including Justin Timberlake, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tracy Morgan, and Anna Wintour. Bidding is open on all auction items through August 10th at www.charitybuzz.com/ArtforLife

Shepard Fairey emerged from skateboarding scene and became most notably known for his “Andre the Giant Has a Posse” sticker campaign and “OBEY” street art movement in the ‘90s. Since 1989, Fairey has consistently produced a wide range of artwork from screenprints, mix media stencil collage, to 15 foot mural installations. Fairey reached worldwide recognition after creating the iconic Obama Hope, Change, Progress posters used during the 2008 presidential election. His work is included in the collections at The Smithsonian, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

ART FOR LIFE is Rush Philanthropic’s primary annual fundraising effort that helps support thousands of underserved New York children. Proceeds from the annual gala and auction benefit the Foundation’s signature arts education and gallery programs, which directly serve 2,300 students each year.

Charitybuzz raises funds for nonprofits around the globe through incredible online auctions, giving its bidders exclusive opportunities to make a difference.

Art Daily