“The whole events world has become a machine,” said Janet T. Langsam, ArtsWestchester”™s CEO. “There are events done by not-for-profits, such as ours. Then there are events done by business organizations, like Barnes & Noble. Then there are commercial corporations looking to cultivate specific sectors.”
And don”™t forget events that reflect partnerships between businesses and nonprofits, she added.
As a result, “people have more choices and less time,” said Ann Fabrizio, deputy director of development and communications for ArtsWestchester. “You could be out every night of the week, and you don”™t necessarily want to be.”
So what”™s an arts council to do to attract sought-after social butterflies in this challenging economy?
Langsam”™s mantra is simple: “Keep it fresh.”
That”™s exactly what the arts council is doing with its up-to-date gala, appropriately titled “Anything Goes,” which will be held Nov. 19 at a property of the RPW Group, whose president, Robert P. Weisz, is the dinner chairman. Guests are invited to tap their inner Alexander McQueen and wear something fashion-forward. They”™ll also be on the cutting edge as far as ArtsWestchester”™s beloved silent auction goes.
The arts council has been a pioneer with the auction, which began 20 years ago, features 350 items ranging from jewelry to travel packages to dining experiences and receives bids from as far away as California.
Now for the second year in a row, ArtsWestchester is using IML handheld devices and Smartcards to enable guests to place their bids digitally at the gala. With a touch of a few buttons, you”™ll be able to record your bid, keep track of the action, which will also appear on a big screen, and up the ante. It”™s an old-fashioned treasure hunt with a dash of James Bond. “It”™s exciting,” Langsam says.
The gala is one of the four big fundraising events ArtsWestchester does every year. There”™s also the June golf outing that started with the nine-hole course at Doral Arrowwood in Purchase and has wound its way through Ridgeway Country Club in White Plains, Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville and Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle. The odyssey keeps the would-be Arnold Palmers happy.
“Golfers like to play a challenging course, and they like to play a course they don”™t get to play often,” Langsam observed.
But before golfers head out to the links in June, there”™s the Arts Awards luncheon in April. This honors an artist, a patron and an arts organization. The luncheon is followed in May by the ArtsBash.
“We started doing it 10 years ago when we bought the building,” Langsam said of ArtsWestchester”™s Arts Exchange headquarters in White Plains, formerly the People”™s Bank & Trust Co. “We had a home, and we wanted to show what we did in our space. It”™s kind of an open studios. A lot of people can”™t go to the gala. (ArtsBash) is more accessible.”
ArtsBash underscores the myriad events ArtsWestchester does each year ”“ lectures, performances and workshops. And this leads Langsam to another observation: While audiences for large cultural institutions are in some cases declining, participation in arts workshops is on the rise, for the same reason that people like to go to events rather than just write out a check.
“People are looking,” she said, “for an authentic experience.”
“Anything Goes” is the theme of this year”™s ArtsWestchester Gala, which will be held Nov. 19 in The Atrium of 1133 Westchester Ave. in White Plains. The honoree is Wells Fargo, with special recognition to be given to Thomas M. Roach Jr., mayor of White Plains. For information visit artswestchester.org.
