Purim Ball 2015
To Honor Laurie Simmons
At Park Avenue Armory
February 25, 2015

New York, NY – Claudia Gould, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director of the Jewish Museum, announced today that the Museum’s highly anticipated annual gala will be a festive masked ball at Park Avenue Armory in Manhattan on Wednesday evening, February 25, 2015. The evening of celebration and dancing will honor artist/photographer/filmmaker Laurie Simmons for her outstanding artistic achievements and in anticipation of her upcoming exhibition at the Museum, and Eugene and Emily Grant will be receiving the Mayer Sulzberger Award for their lifelong commitment to art, culture and education in the context of the Jewish experience.

The Museum also announced that as Purimspieler, New York Magazine Senior Art Critic Jerry Saltz will wittily retell the Purim story at the gala.

This year’s theme is inspired by the Museum’s current exhibition, Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power, which explores the life and art collection of this extraordinary style icon who ascended from humble roots to lead a global beauty empire.

Masked Purim balls have been given for charitable purposes since the end of the fifteenth century. The Jewish Museum’s annual gala always coincides with this holiday, which commemorates events that occurred during a period of Jewish history known as “the Babylonian exile,” in the 6th century BCE. Aided by her uncle Mordecai, the Persian king’s beautiful Jewish queen, Esther, thwarted a plot against the Jews devised by Haman, her husband’s chief minister.  The Jews of Persia rejoiced at their deliverance and sent gifts to one another. Centuries later, these events are celebrated every year with parties, feasting, the wearing of costumes and masks, and the reading of the story of Esther.

Purim Ball 2015 will begin with cocktails at 6:30PM, followed by dinner in the Armory’s vast drill hall, one of the city’s most dramatic and historic spaces. The gala will include an After Party, a dance-and-drinks party with an open bar, beginning at 9:30PM and continuing to midnight. Music for the entire evening will be provided by DJ Ani Quinn. The Jewish Museum is partnering with David Stark Design and Production to design and help plan the 2015 gala. Stark and his team will transform the drill hall of the Park Avenue Armory into a mysterious and shimmering palace by suspending thousands of tiny mirrors overhead, catching the ever-changing light and dynamically altering the ceiling height of the grand room.  

Purim Ball 2015 Dinner Chairs include Jonathan and Darcie Crystal, Debra Fine and Martin Schneider, Betty and John Levin, Beth and Joshua Nash, Nancy and Morris W. Offit, Tracey and Robert Pruzan, David Resnick and Catherine Klema, John Shapiro and Shonni Silverberg, Audrey and Zygi Wilf, and Jane and Mark Wilf. The After Party co-chairs are Melanie Baevsky, Jared Effron, Audrey Gelman, Will Palley, Hillary Reinsberg, and Stephanie Roach.

Tickets for the gala are $1,500 or $2,500 for an individual. Tables are $15,000, $25,000 or $50,000. A $500 Associate ticket is available for individuals age 40 and younger.  Tickets for the After Party are $100 in advance and $125 at the door.  Dress is festive attire and masks are encouraged. Ticket information may be obtained at jadamo@loreleievents.com or 212.546.9032.

About the Honorees

Laurie Simmons (born Long Island, 1949), is an acclaimed artist whose work has been shown around the world at institutions including The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others. She received her BFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1971, after which she moved to New York City to pursue her artistic career.

From March 13 to August 9, 2015, the Jewish Museum will present a solo exhibition of Simmons’ recent works. Laurie Simmons: How We See draws upon the “Doll Girls” community, women who alter themselves to look like Barbie, baby dolls, and Japanese anime characters through make-up, dress, and even cosmetic surgery. In How We See, Simmons goes beyond the disturbing questions raised by the “Doll Girls” community to explore notions of beauty, identity, and persona.

Eugene and Emily Grant share a passion for art, the Jewish community, music, nature, skiing, archaeology, the state of Israel, Holocaust education, their family, and each other. They are longtime supporters of the Jewish Museum, funding a range of diverse special exhibitions including Russian Jewish Artists in a Century of Change and Alias Man Ray: The Art of Reinvention, among others. Eugene M. Grant is a Life Trustee of the Jewish Museum, first joining its board in 1983, and chairing The Legacy Campaign, which exceeded its goal of $50 million to support the 1993 building expansion, an endowment fund, and creation of the permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey. Currently, he is President of Eugene M. Grant & Company, a real estate investment and development firm, headquartered in New York City. He is a member of the board of the Metropolitan Opera and Realty Foundation of New York, and Chairman Emeritus of the Westchester Holocaust Commission. He also sits on the real estate councils of various arts organizations such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Emily Grant is past Chairman of the Purchase College Foundation of the State University of New York, and a founder and board member of the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, NY. She has devoted much of her time to community service as a board member of several organizations, including Westchester Jewish Community Services, Westchester Arts Council, and SUNY Purchase College Neuberger Museum of Art. Her tireless volunteerism has also extended to the Metropolitan Opera and the Holocaust and Human Rights Commission. In 2014, UJA-Federation established the Eugene and Emily Grant Award for Community Service in Mamaroneck, NY.

About the Purimspieler

Since 2008, Jerry Saltz has been Senior Art Critic for New York Magazine. He recently became the first art critic ever to win a National Magazine Award in the Columns and Commentary category from the American Society of Magazine Editors. Formerly the Senior Art Critic for The Village Voice, he has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism three times. He has also served as a visiting critic at The School of Visual Arts, Columbia University, Yale University, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the New York Studio Residency Program, and was the sole advisor for the 1995 Whitney Biennial. Jerry Saltz has lectured at Harvard University, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the Walker Art Center, and many other venues. He lives in New York City with his wife Roberta Smith, Co-chief Art Critic for The New York Times.

About the Mayer Sulzberger Award

In 1904, Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 objects of fine and ceremonial art to the library of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America.  Through this gesture, the initial concept of the Jewish Museum and the basis for its distinguished collection were formed.  In 1981, the Museum established the Mayer Sulzberger Award to recognize individuals for their contributions to the perpetuation of art, culture and education in the context of the Jewish experience.