Celebration of Asia Week 2013
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Honorary Chair, Cuisine, and Special Guests
NEW YORK CITY, March 19, 2013 — Honoring Jason Wu, Asia Society's fifth annual Celebration of Asia Week benefit gala Monday evening, March 18, 2013, drew over 350 guests from the worlds of art, design and fashion.
The evening began with a cocktail reception featuring an Asian-inspired menu and jazz trio. An elegant dinner followed in the historic Grand Ballroom of The Pierre, a Taj Hotel. Guest Chefs Pichet Ong and Simpson Wong created a unique menu for the occasion. Asia Society Museum Director Melissa Chiu welcomed the guests and introduced Jason Wu, who paid tribute to his parents and thanked Asia Society for its work connecting Asians and Americans. Asia Society Executive Vice President Tom Nagorski also made brief remarks, paying tribute to Wu and thanking attendees for their support. A live and lively auction by Sotheby’s Vice Chairman, North America, Henry Howard-Sneyd, saw guests bidding on a number of items such as a made-to measure suit by Ermenegildo Zegna, and luxury travel and exclusive experiences.
Following dinner, guests danced to music by Peter Duchin and his Orchestra.
Those in attendance included: Chairs Stephanie Foster and Charles Rockefeller; Co-Chairs Betsy and Edward Cohen, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Christine and Stephen Schwarzman, and Ermenegildo Zegna; and Vice Chairs Henrietta and Richard Fore, Ruth and Harold Newman, Cynthia Hazen Polsky and Leon Polsky, Denise and Andrew Saul, and Lulu and Anthony Wang.
Additional guests included Kyle Blackmon, Eddie Borgo, Veronica Bulgari, Drake Burnette, Alexis Dahan, Qin Feng, Tom Freston, Carolyn Hsu-Balcer and Rene Balcer, Sharon Bush, Michael Joo, Cathy Hardwick, Michelle Harper, Martha Hunt, Chiu-Ti Jansen and Geoffrey Bradfield, Liya Kebede, Patrick Li, Terresa Liu and Richard Snyder, Nate Lowman, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Lorry Newhouse, Maggie Norris and Andrew LePera, Mariko Mori, Shu Pei, Amanda Ross, Cynthia Rowley and Bill Powers, Hilary Rhoda, Jean and Martin Shafiroff, Jenny Shimizu, Susan Shin, Keegan Singh, Hanne Gaby Odiele, Susan and Dirk Standen, Anna Sui, Patricia Tang, Barbara and Donald Tober, Richard Tsao, and Marie-Hélène Weill.
Ermenegildo Zegna was a Co-Chair for the evening and his eponymous fashion house was a lead corporate underwriter.
Asia Society's Celebration of Asia Week gala brings together leading Asian and Asian American designers and artists, as well as Asian art dealers, collectors and enthusiasts, in a benefit to support Asia Society’s museum and cultural activities and its mission of connecting Asians and Americans. Asia Week New York, March 15–23, is a collaboration of museums, galleries, auction houses and Asian art specialists hosting exhibitions, previews and special programs throughout the city geared toward a discerning audience from around the world.
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