The third annual Wright Museum Benefit Gala promises to transport attendees to the Amazon rainforest and Rio carnival of Brazil, as well as to a new location: instead of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, this year’s event takes place Saturday, September 28, 2013, at MGM Grand Detroit.
This year’s gala takes its Brazilian theme from the Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil exhibition currently on display at The Wright Museum. The first major U.S. traveling exhibit on art from this region of Brazil, it tells the story of how African, European, and indigenous cultural traditions have interacted over a period of more than 500 years in the largest country in South America, with the intention of spurring visitors to draw connections to and parallels with the (north) American experience.
The gala fundraiser takes place Saturday, September 28, 2013, beginning at 7 pm (VIP reception at 6:30 pm), and will feature Brazilian cuisine, dancing and entertainment; a formal, seated dinner; and a Rio Carnival after-party. Guests will enjoy open bar and complimentary valet service. His Excellency Mauro Vieira, Ambassador of Brazil to the United States, is the event’s Honorary Chairman.
The 2013 campaign continues the audience outreach that made the past two Wright Galas major fundraising successes as well as high-profile awareness-building events, collectively raising close to $1 million for museum operations. Proceeds from the gala help replace funding lost from the City of Detroit, which has reduced annual support to the museum by two-thirds.
Yvette Bing, First Lady of the City of Detroit and member of the Board of Trustees for The Wright Museum, has assembled a dynamic host committee of influential women who are representative of the diversity and idealism of this outreach effort. Committee co-chairs include Jo Coleman, Jennifer Fischer, Suzanne Shank, and Lorna Thomas, M.D.; committee members include Rosalind Brewer, Betty Brooks, Lauren Campbell Sanders, Juliene Carroll, Serena Cockrell, Janice Cosby Bridges, Retha Douglas, Linda Forte, Mary Anne Gargaro, Sandra Gates Taylor, Dr. Linda Gillum, Sharon James, Marion Jones, Florine Mark, Vivian Pickard, Sandra Pierce, Glenda Price, Ph.D., Fair Radom, Maureen Roberts, Barbara K. Smith, Ph.D., Jaime Rae Turnbull, Barbara Whittaker, and Roberta Hughes Wright, Ph.D., widow of museum founder Dr. Charles H. Wright. This year’s gala will be Mrs. Bing’s final official event as First Lady of the City of Detroit.
Tickets for the gala start at $300, which includes the gala and Rio Carnival after-party. Additionally, a variety of sponsorship opportunities are available. Complete information and online purchasing are available at www.TheWrightGala.org.
Sponsors of the 2013 Wright Museum Benefit Gala include Gala Presenting Sponsor Ford Motor Company, Education & Literacy Sponsor General Motors Foundation, Arts Education Sponsor St. John Providence Health System, Gala Reception Sponsor General Motors Company, and Entertainment Sponsor MGM Grand Detroit.
About Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints: Popular Art of the Northeast of Brazil
Organized by Con/Vida – Popular Arts of the Americas, in partnership with The Wright Museum, Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints includes nearly 200 works of art by more than 50 artists. The exhibit remains on display until January 5, 2014, after which it will travel to the DuSable Museum, Chicago, Illinois; the Robert W. Woodruff Library at the Atlanta University Center, Atlanta, Georgia; and the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina. Funding for Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Michigan Humanities Council, with additional support from Wayne State University, TechTown, and the Adrian Dominican Sisters. The exhibition is free with museum admission, which is $8 for adults (ages 13-61), and $5 for seniors (62+) and youth (3-12). Admission is free for museum members and children under 3. The Wright Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 am until 5 pm, and on Sundays from 1 until 5 pm.
About the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History
Founded in 1965 and located at 315 East Warren Avenue in Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the world’s largest institution dedicated to the African American experience. For more information please visit TheWright.org.
