Pop Art-Themed Costume Fundraiser Unites Creatives: Anifa Mvuemba, Machine Dazzle, Dan Deacon, Jason Barnes and Kelly Towles Outdoors at Hirshhorn, May 21
WEBWIRE – Thursday, May 19, 2022
The Smithsonians Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden will celebrate the art in the everyday at the Hirshhorn Ball, Saturday, May 21, 6:3010 p.m. Held in the museums outdoor Sculpture Garden, this years fundraising party is inspired by pop art and the generations of artists who have turned popular and commercial culture on its head, including Andy Warhol, Rosalyn Drexler, Jeff Koons and Claes Oldenburg whose work adds punch to the museums permanent collection. Guests are invited to respond to the theme through creative fancy dress. Synthesizing pop arts iconic past with its innovative present, Hirshhorn Ball 2022 will honor visionary artist and designer KAWS in recognition of his mastery and subversion of commercial culture. Tickets for the 2022 Hirshhorn Ball are on sale now.
The fundraiser will be hosted by Pussy Noir, alter ego of Washington, D.C.-area performance artist Jason Barnes, marking his third year as the balls emcee. Musician and composer Dan Deacon, known for his electrifying engaging live performances, will unite partygoers on the dance floor. Washington, D.C., artist and muralist Kelly Towles will mount an interactive art-making experience for attendees in the Sculpture Garden. VIP attendees will be treated to a pre-party performance by multimedia artist and performer Laurie Anderson and cocktails designed by Ryan Chetiyawardana aka the world-renowned bartender, Mr. Lyan.
We could think of no more exuberant theme for the 2022 Hirshhorn Ball than pop art, said Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. Our Ball is a ball; its also a party with a purpose. Funds raised support our effort to connect our broad audience to modern and contemporary art through lifelong learning in person and virtually.
The evening begins with red carpet arrivals at 6:30 p.m. Guests will parade through the Sculpture Garden before a jury, including Anderson, fashion designer Anifa Mvuemba of Hanifa and Broadway costumer and performer Machine Dazzle, who will crown the winner. Deacons outdoor performance will start at 8 p.m.
Hirshhorn Ball co-chairs include Jennifer Maguire Isham and Aba Kwawu. The Host Committee includes Sara Azani and Arash Shirazi, Kate Bennett, Erik Bruner-Yang, Peter Chang and Ally Mumm, Julia Cottafavi, Nicole Crowder Michael R. Dumlao, Violeta Edelman and Robb Duncan, Gerald Oliver, Keem Hughley, Nancy Miyahira, Nina ONeil Jessica Powers, Polina Proshkina, Elissa Rubin and Robert Sanchez, Brian Smith, Dvon Williams and Gary Williams Jr.
Proceeds from the evening support the Hirshhorns public initiatives, including exhibitions, community partnerships, vital educational programming for teens and kids as well as digital collaborations that bring global contemporary art to the widest possible audiences. Since 2015, the Hirshhorns fundraising efforts have raised more than $7.5 million to support its mission to bring people, art and ideas together.
About the Hirshhorn
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is the national museum of modern and contemporary art and a leading voice for 21st-century art and culture. Part of the Smithsonian, the Hirshhorn is located prominently on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Its holdings encompass one of the most important collections of postwar American and European art in the world. The Hirshhorn presents diverse exhibitions and offers an array of public programs on the art of our timefree to all. The Hirshhorn Museum is open Thursday‒Sunday, 10 a.m.‒5:30 p.m. The outdoor sculpture garden is open daily 10 a.m.4:30 p.m. For more information, visit hirshhorn.si.edu. Follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Jun 17, 2021 | Books, Business
Clinical Repurposing Trials in Vascular Malformations and Osteosarcoma Receive Funding
CureAccelerator Live! for Pediatric Rare Diseases
CHICAGO – June 15, 2021 – PRLog — Dr. Joyce Teng representing Stanford University and Dr. Nancy Gordon representing the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center both won Cures Within Reach’s CureAccelerator Live! for Rare Diseases virtual philanthropic pitch event, which was held June 10-11. Dr. Teng’s project, “Treating Vascular Malformations in the Face, Head and Neck Using Trametinib,” will study complex extracranial arteriovenous malformations in pediatric patients treated with an approved cancer drug. If successful, this project may lead to slower disease progression and improved quality of life for these patients. Dr. Gordon’s project, “Enhancing Treatment Response in Recurrent/Metastatic Osteosarcoma with Hydroxychloroquine,” will study adding an approved malaria drug to the current recommended drug combination for pediatric patients with relapsed/recurrent osteosarcomas. If successful, this project may enhance the treatment response and lead to the identification of biomarkers in these pediatric patients to help improve survival rates. Both researchers will receive up to $50,000 in funding from Cures Within Reach.
A leading global nonprofit focused on repurposing research as a fast track to impacting patients, Cures Within Reach’s CureAccelerator Live! competition showcases clinical repurposing projects that are ready to fund. Held during Global Genes’ RARE Drug Development Symposium with the Orphan Disease Center of the University of Pennsylvania, CureAccelerator Live! featured four researchers representing academic medical centers from across the US and Chile, and its attendees voted for the winning rare pediatric disease clinical repurposing trial.
“Arteriovenous malformation is a challenging congenital disorder without any FDA approved treatment,” said Dr. Teng. “We are very excited about the potential benefits of repurposing a targeted medial therapy for this debilitating condition.”
“Osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor, is an orphan disease in a vulnerable patient population,” said Dr. Gordon. “Funds provided by Cures Within Reach are essential to further our understanding of why certain patients may or may not benefit from this treatment and allow the developing of biomarkers that could be used to select patients for this treatment or related clinical trials in the future with potential to impact survival.”
“These projects highlight the speed and cost-effectiveness that clinical repurposing trials can have on pediatric rare disease patients – and any patient – with unsolved diseases,” said Barbara Goodman, President & CEO at Cures Within Reach. “We are thrilled to support both Drs. Teng and Gordon and hope to raise funding for the other two finalists in 2021.”
The other finalists who presented their repurposing projects at CureAccelerator Live! included:
– Ignacia Fuentes, PhD of DEBRA Chile: Repurposing a Common Antioxidant Nutraceutical, N-Acetylcysteine, for Wound Treatment in Butterfly Skin
– Joseph Rower, PhD of University of Utah: Repurposing Valganciclovir to Treat Cytomegalovirus-Induced Hearing Loss
Expert panelists representing pharma, clinicians, academia and patient advocacy helped attendees make a more informed voting decision. Panelists included representatives from Advocate Aurora Health, the Charles H. Hood Foundation; Global Genes; and Horizon Therapeutics.
Cures Within Reach is grateful for philanthropic support from the Charles H. Hood Foundation for its pediatric-focused clinical repurposing research. Additional support for this event and all of its Repurposing Communities from Brand Institute, EdgeOne Medical, Healx, Horizon Therapeutics, the Judy Hirsch Foundation, Medidata, Recordati Rare Diseases, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and TerSera Therapeutics.
About Cures Within Reach
Cures Within Reach (CWR) is a US-based philanthropic leader improving patient quality and length of life by leveraging the speed, safety and cost-effectiveness of medical repurposing research: driving more treatments to more patients more quickly. CWR catalyzes research to facilitate and validate already approved therapies for new indications to create clinical impact. CWR provides seed funds for first in-human or pivotal studies that, when successful, allow a catalytic effect of additional follow-on trials and follow-on funding. CWR’s 2021 initiatives include focused efforts to impact Pediatrics; Veterans; and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts. CWR currently has a global portfolio of 33 repurposing research projects at 28 institutions in 21 diseases. Visit cureswithinreach.org (http://www.cureswithinreach.org/).
Mar 30, 2021 | Books, Business
JUDI.AI, technology leader in small business lending and growth analytics, today announced that Dr. Russell Anderson has joined the team as Chief Credit Scientist. Dr. Anderson will drive the data science strategy behind JUDI.AI’s proprietary credit risk models and small business growth analytics.
“Over the last year, many community banks and credit unions have struggled to answer two really important questions: What is the financial status of my small business customers, and how can I help them grow their business?” explained Gord Baizley, CEO of JUDI.AI. “With the addition of Russell’s deep domain expertise, we will continue to find innovative and efficient ways to surface answers to these questions, and solidify JUDI.AI as the data science experts in small business lending.”
Dr. Anderson has spent over 30 years developing artificial intelligence and machine learning solutions for Retail, eCommerce, and Financial Services, with specific expertise in credit and fraud risk management. Past roles include:
- Chief Scientist for IBM’s Data Science Studio, where he developed the data science solutions and applications of 17 IBM/Watson products
- Analytics Lead for Opera Solutions, which involved working with customers such as Hess Oil, VISA, Volkswagen, MasterCard, Westpac Australia, ACI Worldwide and Synovus Bank
- Head of Decision Science at Halifax Bank of Scotland, where he supported full-lifecycle modeling for the retail bank including credit cards, loans, mortgages, risk and fraud
- Head of Transaction Analytics at Chase Card Services, which involved the re-design of their transaction analysis system and developing analytics services for partners such as United Airlines, Marriott and Disney
- Director of Modeling at HNC Software (now FICO), where he worked on the development of the first, billion-dollar commercial neural network application, Falcon
“The many moving variables of a small business – different operating models, costs, margins, demand drivers, competition, and seasonality – make small business credit decisioning more complex than consumer credit,” said Dr. Anderson. “This risk has traditionally caused hesitation within credit unions and community banks to help existing members or to take new SMB customers on, even though it is in their DNA to grow their communities. A critical capability enabled by the JUDI.AI platform is allowing a real-time review of cashflow for every loan applicant, both pre- and post- funding. This means financial institutions can monitor predictive success indicators such as debt-to-service credit ratios, and offer proactive business advice. The next AI chapter is all about adding the intake of other relevant and vertical-specific data, creating adaptive credit risk assessment models and teasing out more business growth insights that really matter.”
You can read Dr. Anderson’s full bio here: https://www.judi.ai/team/russell-anderson-chief-credit-sc…
The JUDI.AI platform has now supported over $1 billion worth of small business loan applications. Three out of the top ten largest credit unions in Canada are current customers, including Canada’s largest credit union, Vancity (https://judi.ai/2020/02/12/grows-smb-membership-by-transf…).
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Stacy Gorkoff – VP, Marketing at JUDI.AI
***@judi.ai
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