2010 REDCAT Gala Honors Artist Glenn Ligon and Philanthropist Tim Disney

On March 13, REDCAT hosts its 2010 REDCAT Gala in celebration of its 6th anniversary as one of the most vibrant cultural centers in Los Angeles. The evening honors New York-based conceptual artist Glenn Ligon, with a tribute by actor, director, and artist James Franco, and L.A. philanthropist Tim Disney, with a tribute by friend and actor Alfre Woodard. The event also marks the 40th anniversary of CalArts, with a tribute by CalArts alumnus and trustee Don Cheadle, paying special recognition to CalArts trustee emeriti Harrison "Buzz" Price. With a special performance by world-renowned experimental performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson and décor by the local architecture firm JOHNSTONMARKLEE, the 2010 REDCAT Gala gives supporters a genuine showcase of the depth and diversity of arts programming presented at REDCAT. The Gala is hosted at REDCAT, 631 West 2nd Street, in downtown Los Angeles.

REDCAT is CalArts' downtown center for innovative visual, performing and media arts located in the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Led by Executive Director Mark Murphy and Gallery Director and Curator Clara Kim, REDCAT is a center for experimentation and discovery, presenting a roster of cutting-edge work by today's most influential artistic voices from around world. With more than 50,000 visitors attending REDCAT's film, theater, dance, music, visual art and multimedia presentations annually, REDCAT has become a critical addition in the landscape of contemporary culture since it opened in 2003 and has been described by The Huffington Post as "the gold standard of the avant garde in L.A."

This year, REDCAT is pleased to present the prestigious REDCAT Award to two important figures who have made indelible contributions to the field of contemporary arts--visual artist Glenn Ligon and philanthropist Tim Disney. The Award, designed by Frank Gehry and produced by Tiffany & Co., is given annually to an artist and a philanthropist who, in the spirit of REDCAT's mission, have shown innovation, vision and leadership in the contemporary arts. This year, actor James Franco will give a special tribute to Glenn Ligon, and friend and actor Alfre Woodard will honor Tim Disney. Past recipients have included Kara Walker and Roy E. Disney (2007), Mark Bradford and Harriet Gold (2008) and Barry McGee and Robert Egelston (2009).

The Gala event begins with champagne and hors d'oeuvres in the Lounge and moves into the radically transformed theater designed by the dazzling L.A.-based architecture studio JOHNSTONMARKLEE. During the evening, the inimitable photographer Catherine Opie will offer an inspirational toast to kick start the program and world-renowned performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson will give a special performance. Following the presentation of the awards and the dinner program, the legendary rock musician and founding member of Bauhaus, David J, will keep the celebration going with a DJ set in the Lounge with desserts and coffee.

The original setting will be host to 250 of L.A.'s most influential cultural and business leaders as well as artists and performers, all gathered to raise money to support the innovative programming and exhibitions at REDCAT. Guests include honorees Tim Disney, Glenn Ligon, CalArts President Steven D. Lavine; Gala Co-Chairs Jamie Lynton and Catharine Soros, REDCAT Executive Director Mark Murphy and Gallery Director Clara Kim as well as Alfre Woodard, James Franco, Laurie Anderson, Don Cheadle, Herb and Janet Dreisen Rappaport, Jeffrey Soros, Michael Lynton, Scott and Susan Disney Lord, Harriett and Richard Gold, Stanley and Elyse Grinstein, Adele Yellin, John Rubeli, and Shaun Regen, among many others.

REDCAT Gala is supported by The Annenberg Foundation, The Capital Group Companies, Disney/Pixar, Lockton Insurance, and The Lund Foundation.

ABOUT THE HONOREES

TIM DISNEY
Tim Disney has been engaged with CalArts since his childhood. A member of the CalArts Board of Trustees since 1993, Tim has served as chair of the recently concluded Campaign for CalArts and currently chairs the Institute's Development Committee.

Tim is a writer, director, producer, and co-founder of Uncommon Productions. He made his directorial debut with the feature film A Question of Faith, which premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000. In addition to directing the feature film Tempesta, Tim has served as executive producer on a variety of documentary and feature films, including The Price of Sugar, Racing Against the Clock and Crusade: A March Through Time. His most recent films include the short film, Southbound, which screened at REDCAT, and the critically acclaimed American Violet.

While Tim is deeply committed to areas across the Institute, he is particularly devoted to REDCAT and the innovative programming it offers audiences from Los Angeles and around the world. He underscores his generous philanthropy to REDCAT with his active leadership, currently serving as chair of REDCAT Council.

GLENN LIGON
Glenn Ligon's powerful body of work reveals the complexities of the social constructs of race, sexuality, and gender. Ligon uses text, language, and imagery from a range of sources including stand-up comedy, children's coloring books, slave narratives and the literary works of James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Genet, and Gertrude Stein--altering and transforming these materials into paintings, works on paper, neon sculptures and installations. His work oscillates between pointedness and dissolution--often literally blurring the lines between seeing and not seeing, transparency and abstraction--as a metaphor for the socially and politically loaded territory of representation.

Ligon's work has been the subject of exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe over the last 20 some years. Recent solo exhibitions include the Power Plant, Toronto (2005); the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2001); the Kunstverein München, Germany (2001), the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2000); the St. Louis Art Museum (2000); the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia (1998); and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1996). He was also included in the groundbreaking exhibitions, the 1993 Whitney Biennial and Black Male: Representation of Masculinity in Contemporary Art, both curated by Thelma Golden at the Whitney Museum. Ligon's work is represented in major public collections including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia; the Guggenheim Museum, New York; the Tate Modern, London; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He is the recipient of the Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize in 2009, the Skowhegan Medal for Painting in 2006, John Simon Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 2003 and the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1991 and 1989. Ligon's work Black Like Me No. 2 (1992) was selected by President and First Lady Obama to be included in the White House collection. Ligon will have a mid-career retrospective at the Whitney Museum in Spring 2011. Born 1960 in the Bronx, Ligon graduated from Wesleyan University and the Whitney Independent Study Program. He currently lives and works in New York.

ABOUT REDCAT
REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater) opened by CalArts in 2003, introduces diverse audiences, students and artists to the most influential developments in the arts from around the world, and gives artists in this region the creative support they need to achieve national and international stature. REDCAT is the newest partner in an international network of adventurous art and performance centers, which together are playing a vital role in the evolution of contemporary culture. REDCAT is a center for experimentation, discovery, and lively civic discourse.

"REDCAT reflects L.A. looking outward." The Los Angeles Times

ABOUT CALARTS
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is recognized internationally as a leading laboratory for the visual, performing, media and literary arts. Housing six schools--Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater--CalArts educates professional artists in an intensive learning environment founded on artmaking excellence, creative experimentation, cross-pollination among diverse artistic disciplines, and a broad context of social and cultural understanding. CalArts also operates the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex in downtown Los Angeles.

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