Food, Fun and Art at ArtsWestchester’s ArtsBash

Food, fun and art mix and mingle at ArtsWestchester’s biggest house party of the year. Top chefs serve tasty dishes paired with spirited cocktails and other super sips from local purveyors – all set against the backdrop of contemporary art. Open artist studios and family activities round out the two-day feast of vibrant cultural life in our County.

Five hundred guests are expected to celebrate creative cuisine and culture at this year’s ArtsBash on Thursday, May 16 at ArtsWestchester’s historic building in downtown White Plains. This year’s fundraising party features food from 20 restaurants, local libations, massages, a DJ, raffles and much more.

“In the course of a few hours, you really feel like you get to know this creative community through food and art,” says Honorary Chair Rob Petrone, host and executive producer of “Restaurant Hunter” on Verizon Fios1 News Lower Hudson Valley.

Throughout the building, open artist studios pair perfectly with the crowd’s spirited vibe and provide a unique opportunity to interact with some of the County’s most creative forces.

“ArtsBash is the all-access, behind-the-scenes cultural party of the year,” says Event Co-Chair Karen Greenspan.
Here is your top-down guide to all things ArtsBash. Ready, set, party.

Start your fête on the ninth floor with live piano music, chair massages and a photo booth by The SnapBar. The full slate of wine and cocktails includes spirits from popular Port Chester distillery StilltheOne Distillery Two and Adirondack favorite Gristmill. Brother Jimmy’s BBQ, Lola’s Mexican Kitchen and Tre Angelina provide savory sustenance.

Eight artists on the eighth floor invite you to peek around their processes. They include Antoinette Wysocki whose abstract paintings are like prismatic puzzles teeming with evocative clues and symbols and Kiyoshi Otsuka whose gestural works develop from his experience with landscape.

Wind down to seven to visit with the talented folks at Sullivan Architecture, the creative force behind the renovation of ArtsWestchester’s home base, the converted bank building you’re standing in. Food, drink and live music are also on hand.

Dafco’s Art Gallery run by Ghanaian American Joe Cobbinah is home to sculpture, masks and other objects from Africa and is among the six suites to visit on the sixth floor. Four artists using a range of mediums open their doors on the fifth floor. Down on four, Bryan Green’s filled-with-color portraits offer personal perceptions of friends and family.

Theo Philip Entertainment gets the party moving at ArtsWestchester’s gallery on the ground floor and second-floor mezzanine. Desserts from Penny Lick Ice Cream Company, Lulu Cake Boutique and Baked by Susan sweeten the evening.

The exhibition Modern Families, which explores diverse representations of what “family” means through photographs by 11 artists anchored by the work of Harlem Renaissance legend James Van Der Zee, serves as the backdrop.

The 2019 ArtsBash is a fundraiser to support the programs and services of ArtsWestchester hosted by Karen and Andrew Greenspan, Pat and Jim Houlihan, Rob Petrone, David DiBari and John Crabtree. Thursday, May 16 from 6-9pm at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains. For more info and to purchase tickets, visit artswestchester.org.

(photo credit: Tim Grajek)

A version of this article first appeared in the May issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.