On the Fashion & Style page of the New York Times’ web site, you can see the slide show from a particularly star-studded evening at Art Basel in Miami. What’s the Lower East side connection, you ask? Well it was fundraiser, hosted by Chanel for the Dash Snow Initiative at Boys and Girls Republic, which is run by Henry Street Settlement.
Demi Moore was there, along with Lenny Karvitz, Russell Simmons, Martha Srewart and many other A-list celebrities. But more to the point, the dinner and auction raised more than $1 million for Henry Street’s youth programs. Downtown artist Dash Snow died in 2009 of a drug overdose. “All his friends and peers attract a certain type of crowd,” Teddy Liouliakis, Snow’s good friend, told the Times. ”We’re hoping that it can help memorialize Dash in a positive way.”
Art world stars Julian Schnabel, Ryan McGinley, Jeff Koons, Richard Prince and Dan Colen all donated works. Committee members for the event included Jade Berreau, Teddy Liouliakis, Yvette Quiazon, Dan Colen, Blair Hansen and Jen Brill.
Henry Street Settlement Executive Director David Garza said, “…for those of us who knew how many hundreds of children and families will benefit from programs at BGR, the event had a very significant and special meaning.” The Dash Snow Initiative chose Boys and Girls Republic (located just off of Avenue D) because Snow was committed to helping at-risk kids and because the Lower East Side, where Snow was based, was important to him.
