Food, robotics and body art: Arts Council hosts its annual ‘Pinot to Picasso’ fundraiser

By Philip Sean Curran
   There was an intentional raw quality about the fundraiser Friday for the Arts Council of Princeton, an evening that was not your typical white tablecloth, chicken dinner, sit next to the same people for two hours kind of event.
   The music was loud; the venue was in an unfinished office space at the Technology Center of Princeton; the artwork hanging on the wall was eclectic; the models in bikinis covered in graffiti art were like walking art pieces. This was Pinot to Picasso, the annual spring fundraiser to support an organization that serves as a hub for the art world in Princeton.
   ”It’s great to see so many people enthusiastic about the arts and local artists,” said Isabella de la Housseye, vice president/treasurer of the Arts Council board of trustees.
   Dawn McClatchy, a co-chairwoman of the fundraiser along with Gabrielle Shamsey, noted that this year’s fundraiser had a robotics theme. “So this is something that we’re kind of exploring and really having fun with and kind of making a twist on the future, in an Arts Council kind of way,” she said.
   Ms. McClatchy added that she had approached designers to create a robot for the event: “Everybody’s kind of come up with very, very different ideas. Some people really brought a lot to the table and made a huge amount of effort to show what they can do.”
   One highlight of the evening was an Italian-style lottery that enabled guests who paid extra to walk away with an original piece of art. Artists like Cynthia Groya donated their art for the fundraiser.
   ”I mean it’s a fabulous turnout,” Ms. Groya said. “I think… it would be really fabulous if we could have more events like this throughout the community so that it made art more accessible to people and they see that art is part of our social fabric and we make it that way.”
   Fellow artist David Horowitz said the evening was about “supporting the arts.”
   ”They all donate their time. There’s so much talent that people are just willing to give for the benefit of the Arts Council,” Ms. Shamsey said of the artists. “It’s been such a wonderful gift to the Arts Council.”
   Through the night, guests mingled at an event that was more shirt, tie and jacket attire rather than black tie for the men, and dresses and not gowns for the women. Instead of a formal dinner, there were tasting tables from various food vendors.
   The event is always in a “raw, open space” that is “like an empty canvass,” Ms. McClatchy said.
   ”We can do whatever we want with it,” she said.
   ”It’s such a great event,” Ms. Shamsey said. “Every year, the community comes together. I feel like it’s a kickoff of spring for Princeton and the surrounding areas.”
   The evening raised money for the Arts Council, an organization that says it is building community through the arts, said Ms. de la Housseye. That organizational marching order extends beyond the borders of Princeton, to provide programs for people of all ages.
   ”I think people see the good work and the results,” she said. “I think it’s the quality of the programming and the way it pulls people together. If you have a strong community, that benefits everybody.”
   She said the organization’s strategic plan calls for, among other things, more programs outside of its building, the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts. The Arts Council wants “to take the arts out to people who can’t come to us,” Ms. de la Housseye said.
   ”We are, whether we like it or not, a regional organization,” she said in adding that other arts organizations around the state come to the Arts Council for advice.
   So what makes people keep coming back to support the organization financially?
   Ms. McClatchy said the uniqueness of the fundraiser—the planning of which starts six months in advance — is a draw year after year because people know they are going to see something different and unique at a high energy event.”I also think that people would like to support the Arts Council because they realize how much community that they are giving back…,” she said.
   Ms. Shamsey lauded Ms. McClatchy for the creativity she brings to the event.
   ”Dawn is one of the most creative people I’ve ever known,” Ms. Shamsey said. “She’s just like a whirling dervish. She just comes up with these concepts, and then we run with it.”