Arts Award Spotlight: Farooq Kathwari
Over the past month, ArtsNews has highlighted the winners of its annual Arts Awards, which recognize people and organizations that have had significant impact on the arts and culture sector in Westchester County. All awardees will be all honored at a luncheon on April 19.
Farooq Kathwari | Emily & Eugene Grant Arts Patron Award
Farooq Kathwari has been the president of Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc. since 1985, and chairman and CEO since 1988. He serves in numerous capacities at several nonprofit organizations, including ArtsWestchester, for which he is a member of the Board of Directors. Kathwari is the author of Trailblazer: From the Mountains of Kashmir to the Summit of Global Business and Beyond, a memoir published in September 2019. The book focuses on his journey from Kashmir to America, his association with Ethan Allen, and his involvement with conflict resolution and humanitarian causes.
Kathwari is a citizen of the world, having been brought into his family’s arts-and-crafts business at the age of 13 and from there honing his keen eye for beautiful design, along with his marketing and business acumen. What began with 12 wicker baskets of Kashmiri arts and crafts, led to a career that is devoted to design, quality and something his customers can live with every day.
With a business degree in Marketing from New York University, Kathwari climbed the ranks of Wall Street at Rothschild & Co., becoming CFO at the young age of 27. From 1973, when he partnered with Ethan Allen in a joint venture, he focused on this company – eventually becoming its president and CEO by 1988. Since then, his vision has led Ethan Allen to become one of the most respected businesses in the country, with 75% of its products are produced in North America.
Kathwari was recognized as an Outstanding American by Choice by the U.S. government. But looking beyond national borders, he is committed to international causes such as the International Rescue Committee; the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Council on Foreign Relations; Refugees International; the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council; and the International Advisory Council of the United States Institute of Peace. Above all else, Kathwari is a family man, a philanthropist, and a visionary business leader who represents the embodiment of the American success story.
About ArtsWestchester
For more than 50 years, ArtsWestchester has been the community’s connection to the arts. Founded in 1965, it is the largest private not-for-profit arts council in New York State. Its mission is to create an equitable, inclusive, vibrant and sustainable Westchester County in which the arts are integral to and integrated into every facet of life. ArtsWestchester provides programs and services that enrich the lives of everyone in Westchester County. ArtsWestchester helps fund concerts, exhibitions and plays through grants; brings artists into schools and community centers; advocates for the arts; and builds audiences through diverse marketing initiatives. In 1998, ArtsWestchester purchased the nine-story neo-classical bank building at 31 Mamaroneck Avenue which has since been transformed into a multi-use resource for artists, cultural organizations and the community. A two-story gallery is located on the first floor of ArtsWestchester’s historic building on Mamaroneck Avenue. artsw.org
