Event Summary

The Everything Warhol 2006 SMoCA Benefit on May 6th at the Hotel Valley Ho received an overwhelming, enthusiastic response from the community. Dinner & cocktail hour Rolls Royce tailgate party tickets sold out with more than 300 people attending the event. The lead sponsor , La Privada at Scottsdale Ranch, a condominium conversion by Robert Sheridan & Partners, donated $25,000 to the Museum as a challenge match, which SMoCA surpassed. The Museum announced the winners of the first-ever “Contemporary Catalyst Award". Janie Ellis, the visionary behind Scottsdale’s historic Cattle Track artists colony, and innovative mixed-use developer Fred Unger were both awarded this exclusive honor, from a field of 22 esteemed nominees. The benefit also received generous community support from Hotel Valley Ho, AZ Wine Company, and corporate table sponsors Snell & Wilmer, Paul Giancola, Chiaroscuro Gallery, Construction Zone, Nova Home Loans, Rima Fine Art, Vanguard City Home, SRP and Janis Leonard Design Associates. Swoozies of Scottsdale donated a generous gift card to each guest and the table centerpieces were designed and provided by Janis Leonard Design Associates. Proceeds from the event benefit the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art’s dynamic exhibitions, youth programs and public-educational events.

Contemporary Catalyst Award

Janie Ellis
Janie has nurtured her family’s grassroots artist colony at Cattle Track, home to Philip Curtis and dozens of other artists. The homestead/cum gallery/cum studio is now a rare glimpse into Scottsdale’s history and a showcase for contemporary art—thanks to Janie’s fierce vision and belief in communality. Janie has devoted her life to the arts and the attendant political and philanthropic causes: she believes in both preserving this community’s precious historical roots and in the need for futuristic thinking.

Fred Unger

Founder of Spring Creek Development, Unger has conceived several of the most unique properties in the community—often against all odds and to the uproar that often faces visionary leaders. Fred believes that historical preservation and innovation need not be at odds. Witness his exemplary role in developing the Royal Palms Hotel, Hermosa Inn, Hotel Valley Ho and (soon) South Bridge. He is committed to excellence, stating that “I do not think like a typical developer. I have one goal in this plan: to create a uniquely Scottsdale experience that is a point of pride for all residents.”

Judges:
Shelley Cohn, former director of the Arizona Commission on the Arts; Judd Herberger, community leader, and Rachel Sacco, president and CEO, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Scottsdale.

The award was coordinated by the Contemporary Catalyst Award Committee: Crista Cloutier, Martha Green, William Lykins, Greg Sullivan and David White.

All proceeds will go to aid the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art as a private non-profit in its continuing mission to bring 'the art of our time' to Arizona. The benefit supports SMoCA's dynamic exhibitions, youth programs and public- educational events for audiences across the Valley.

READ ABOUT LAST YEAR'S EVENT