PS122's 2017 Gala to Fete Alan Cumming at the Diamond Horseshoe

Each year, more than 250 individuals come together to support this unique organization and celebrate iconic leaders from the arts sector. This year, PS122's Spring Gala 2017 at the Diamond Horseshoe honors Alan Cumming, awards a shining star to Ben Rodríguez-Cubeñas and welcomes new Executive Artistic Director, Jenny Schlenzka.

Mr. Cumming's career as a director, writer, performer and producer is the exemplification of the spirit of curiosity and engagement that PS122 champions. He has also demonstrated a deep commitment to raising awareness around social issues including LGBTQ rights and AIDS. He is a true inspiration for artists in NYC and around the world and a remarkable example of the type of artist whom PS122 has always striven to advance.

The Spring Gala highlights and celebrates PS122's important history as a haven for artistic expression during the culture wars and AIDS crisis of the 1980's and 90's. The evening's M.C. is celebrated choreographer and director Jack Ferver. The event features remarks and performances by singer-songwriter and performance artist Justin Vivian Bond,choreographer and arts advocate Ishmael Houston- Jones, Emmy award-winning composer, lyricist, and performer Lance Horne, cabaret star and DJ Amber Martin, andsinger and comedian Erin Markey.

The event will take place on Tuesday, April 4th at one of New York's most celebrated historic venues, The Diamond Horseshoe (235 W. 46th St) and begin at 7:00 PM with DJ Amber Martin, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and a silent auction. Dinner, performances, and presentations, along with a live auction conducted by powerhouse burlesque performer Julie Atlas Muz, will begin at 8PM. Dessert and Dancing with DJ Amber Martin continues post-performances.

Performance Space 122 Spring Gala 2017 Committee: Marina Abramovi?, niv Acosta, Felix Burrichter, Kristin Chenoweth, Caroline, Mary and Paul Cronson, Bridget Donahue, Kimberly R. Drew, Suzanne Geiss, Pati Hertling, Denise Roberts Hurlin, Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar, Young Jean Lee, Ralph Lemon, Ann Magnuson, Sarah Michelson, Debbie Millman, Adam Pendleton, Sheri Pasquarella, Parker Posey, Allison Rockefeller, Kathleen Russo, Stella Schnabel, and Arden Wohl.

Awards are provided by Swarovski. Auction highlights include art work by feminist painter Judith Bernstein, a custom designed tattoo by famed Scottish artist Douglas Gordon, a custom print of Andy Warhol by photographer Paige Powell, and experiences with Broadway Puppeteer Basil Twist, a VIP champagne experience at Sleep No More, among others. Auction items will be displayed online at ps122.org/gala starting March 27.

Individual tickets start at $500 with table sponsorships starting at $5,000 and can be purchased online at ps122.org/gala or via Tara O'Con, Gala Coordinator at 212-477-5829 x 316 or development@ps122.org. Produced by Josh Wood Productions.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Alan Cumming has been described by Time Magazine as one of the most fun people in show business, by The New York Times as a 'bawdy, countercultural sprite' and by The Guardian as 'European, weird, and sexually ambiguous'. He has won over thirty awards for his humanitarianism and social activism, received both the Great Scot and Icon of Scotland awards from his homeland and was made an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) for his contributions to the arts and LBGT equality by the Queen, whose portrait was taken down when his was unveiled at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2014! Alan Cumming is many things to many people - renaissance man, style icon, social activist, bon viveur - but to himself he is a story-teller and provocateur for hire. He lives in New York City and Edinburgh with his husband, illustrator Grant Shaffer, and their dogs, Jerry and Lala. Alan is the co-chair of Performance Space 122's Give Performance Space Capacity Campaign, a capacity-building fundraising campaign designed to foster a smooth transition back into PS122's newly renovated theater spaces.

Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas is the program director of the Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 1996, Mr. Rodriguez-Cubeñas was a program officer at the William Randolph Hearst Foundations, where he worked nationally in the areas of education, health, human services, and arts and culture. In 1998, he co-founded and currently serves as board chair of the Cuban Artists Fund, an international organization dedicated to helping individual artists and promoting cultural exchanges with the Cuban community. Mr. Rodriguez-Cubeñas' wide range of associations includes serving as vice chair of the board of directors of Casita Maria, the oldest Hispanic settlement house in New York, and the leadership council of the New York Foundation for the Arts. He also served as board chair of Hispanics in Philanthropy and as a national advisory board member of New Ventures in Philanthropy.

Jack Ferver is a New York based writer, choreographer, and director. His genre defying performances, which have been called "so extreme that they sometimes look and feel like exorcisms" (The New Yorker), blur boundaries between fantastic theatrics and stark naturalism, character and self, humor and horror. The critically acclaimed artist has been presented throughout New York City, most recently at The Kitchen and The New Museum, as well as domestically and internationally. Ferver is a recipient of the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant. He teaches at Bard College and is guest faculty at NYU. As an actor he has appeared in numerous films and television series. www.jackferver.org

Jenny Schlenzka was recently appointed Performance Space 122's Executive Artistic Director and is the organization's first female artistic leader. Prior to joining PS122, Ms. Schlenzka was the Associate Curator at MoMA PS1 in New York where she established the interdisciplinary live program Sunday Sessions. The program has featured artists such as Mette Ingvartsen, Ann Liv Young, and Justin Vivian Bond as well as new commissions by Trajal Harrell, Ragnar Kjartansson, Mårten Spångberg, Anne Imhof, Matthew Lutz Kinoy and Tobias Madison, among many others. In addition to her event program that incorporated performance, music, dance, discourse, and moving images, Ms. Schlenzka also developed an interest in performance within the exhibition format, organizing at MoMA PS1 the New York presentation of Retrospective by Xavier Le Roy (2014) and Anne Imhof: DEAL (2015), both exhibitions with strong performance components. Prior to her work at MoMA PS1, Ms. Schlenzka was the Assistant Curator for Performance in the Department of Media and Performance Art at The Museum of Modern Art from 2008 to 2012, where she focused on presenting, collecting, and exhibiting performance-based art, including co-organizing the Performance Exhibition Series with artists like Tehching Hsieh, Simone Forti, Roman Ondák, Jerome Bel, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, and Allora & Calzadilla, among others. She has also worked as a curatorial liaison for KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin. Schlenzka received her MA in cultural studies from Humboldt University, Berlin, in 2007. She was the recipient of the 2012 Yoko Ono Courage Award.

The Diamond Horseshoe, one of New York's most celebrated historic venues, is located at 235 West 46th Street at the Paramount Hotel in New York City. First opened in 1938 by theatrical showman and impresario Billy Rose, the Diamond Horseshoe was known for its lavish dinner theaters, vaudeville-style reviews, and chorus of showgirls known as "Billy Rose's long-stemmed beauties." In 2013, the landmark space was restored under the ownership of real-estate investor and patron-of-the-arts Aby Rosen, in partnership with John Meadow's LDV Hospitality. The 3-story, 5,000 sq. ft. venue is layered in design with avant-garde accents and old world splendor, hosting exclusive private gatherings, live performances and unique nightlife experiences. On the 75th anniversary of the club's original opening, the Diamond Horseshoe returned to New York City's entertainment scene in with an extraordinary affair and still continues to be one of the most celebrated and sought-after event spaces. diamondhorseshoe.com

Performance Space 122 (PS122) provides incomparable experiences for audiences by presenting and commissioning artists whose work challenges boundaries of live performance. PS122 is dedicated to supporting the creative risks taken by artists from diverse genres, cultures and perspectives. We are an innovative local, national and international leader in contemporary performance.

Beginning in 2011, PS122 embarked on one of the most unusual and potentially radical shifts in its history, including a re-structuring of artist support, a business model overhaul, and the renovation of our building. As PS122's East Village home undergoes a much-needed interior renovation supported primarily by the City of New York, DCA and DDC, PS122's core activity continues to be providing audiences with contemporary live performance.

For over 3 decades, Performance Space 122 has been a hub for contemporary performance and an active member of the cultural community. PS122 has developed a set of programs designed to re-establish the value of live performance, provide singular experiences for audiences that inspire critical thinking, and sustain the creative process for artists throughout their career. Largely in partnership with peer organizations, PS122 currently presents artists in all disciplines in spaces all over the city during an annual fall & spring season and the Coil festival in January.

In addition to the commissioning and presenting of artists from NYC across the US, and around the globe, PS122 has increased its activity off the stage to provide audiences with a variety of access points and context for the work on stage. These activities include both talkbacks with the artists as well as in depth conversations that bring together luminaries from non-arts disciplines to discuss a variety of topics including everything from religion, to migration, to queer real estate and cultural diplomacy. PS122 encourages the asking of questions and debate of contemporary society's issues in both artistic practice and audience experience.