NEW YORK, NY(SMI-Fashion, 06.15-06.16.21)-The Parsons School of Design, also known as "The New School" hosted its annual Parson Benefit Gala Today (Tuesday,June 15), honoring: Jeff Gennette, Angela Ahrendts,Gabriela Hearst, Kerby Jean-Raymond, Travis Scott & Carrie Mae Weems, Celebrating Its 125th Anniversary and for their Contributions to the World of Design, during special virtual and in-peson awarding honoree presentation & ceremony at the Seaport District in New York City.

​

The 2021-72nd Parsons benefit gala was produced by JWP and co-chair by Liz Rodbell(Group President, Steve Madden) and Gena Smith (SVP, Human Resources & Head of Global Executive & Creative Recruitment, LVMH Inc).

​

​

Carrie Mae Weems Visual Artist

Through image and text, film and performance, and her many convenings with individuals across a multitude of disciplines, Carrie Mae Weems has created a complex body of work that centers on her overarching commitment to helping us better understand our present moment by examining our collective past. 

Weems has received a multitude of awards, grants, and fellowships including the MacArthur Award; US Department of State’s Medals of Arts; Joseph H. Hazen Rome Prize Fellowship from the American Academy in Rome; the National Endowment of the Arts; and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, among many others. 

Major solo exhibitions of Carrie’s work include Carrie Mae Weems: The Museum Series, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2014), and Carrie Mae Weems: Three Decades of Photography and Video, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, and traveled to: Portland Art Museum, Oregon; Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University; Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2013 - 2014. 

She is represented in public and private collections around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Tate Modern, London, England; the Museum of Modern Art, NY and Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. 

Ms. Weems is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery and is currently Artist in Residence at the Park Avenue Armory and Syracuse University. She lives in Syracuse, New York with her husband Jeffrey Hoone who is Executive Director of Light Work.   
 

The Notable attendees/Guests included:

● Brent Faiyaz, Musician

● Donna Karan, Designer

● Elaine Welteroth, American Journalist

● Joey Bada$$, Musician

● Jonathan Singletary, Musician

● Kennedy Yanko, Artist

● Lena Waithe, Actress/Writer

● Rishi Rajani, Film Producer

​

About the Parsons Benefit

The Parsons Benefit is an annual celebration of the inspirational and transformational role that fashion, design and the arts play in today’s world. The evening highlights the outstanding work of our fashion, design, and performing arts students, and brings together an esteemed group of tastemakers, industry leaders, Parsons alumni, and other luminaries from the global Parsons network. Most importantly, the event raises critical scholarship funds for current and future students who would be unable to attend without the generosity of our donors.

​

The New School was founded in 1919 as an institution dedicated to intellectual and artistic freedom. Today it is a leading university offering some of the nation's best-respected degree, certificate, and continuing education programs in design, the social sciences, liberal arts, management and public policy, and performing arts.