Free Arts NYC held its 18th Annual Art Auction in honor of multidisciplinary artist Taryn Simon to benefit the organization’s educational arts mentoring programs for underserved youth and families.The evening began with a silent auction & cocktails with specialty beverages created with Avión Tequila, Morris Kitchen Mixers, Peroni, and Tito’s Handmade Vodka and hors d’oeuvres from Casa Lever. As guests such as Marni clad Maggie Gyllenhaal and Emmy Rossum, caught up over glasses of Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut champagne, the music of Onyx Collective kept everyone’s toes tapping. As Waris Ahluwalia, Sarah Arison, Claire Distenfeld and Thelma Golden browsed works of art from Paddle8’s silent auction that were all generously installed by Crozier Fine Arts, celebrated illustrator Justin Teodoro created portraits of guests like Zoe Buckman sitting in bespoke Jessica Lichtenstein chairs as a curated playlist by Mia Moretti played in the background. Each picture done in Teodoro’s signature style included a statement about the importance of arts education.
