Asian Cultural Council (ACC) will honor Hong Kong-based Danish businessman Hans Michael Jebsen, American businessman and philanthropist David Rockefeller, Jr., and Japanese contemporary artist and ACC alum Takashi Murakami at its biennial fundraising gala in New York City on May 14, 2024. Mr. Murakami will receive The John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award, presented to an ACC alumnus from Asia or the United States who has made a significant contribution to the international understanding, practice, or study of the visual or performing arts of Asia. Valerie Rockefeller will present the Award that includes a monetary prize of $50,000 towards the advancement of the awardee’s work. ACC Honorary Co-Chair Wendy O’Neill and ACC Chair Josie Cruz Natori will introduce gala honorees Mr. Jebsen and Mr. Rockefeller, Jr.
Held at the Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor, in New York City, the festive evening begins with cocktails followed by a seated dinner. Evening activities will include the presentation of the JDR 3rd Award and honors to Mr. Murakami, Mr. Jebsen, and Mr. Rockefeller, Jr.
There will be performances by ACC alumni Yin-Ying Lee (2022) and Alex Peh (2019) and a live auction for once-in-a-lifetime lots, including a new artwork created by Mr. Murakami. Dancing to follow. All proceeds help support the Asian Cultural Council. Contact [email protected] to purchase tables and tickets and for details about bidding at the auction.
WHEN
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
6:30 pm Cocktails; 7:30 pm Dinner; approximately 8:30 pm Auction; Festive Black Tie
WHERE
Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor, New York City
GUESTS
In addition to the Asian Cultural Council’s Board Chair Josie Cruz Natori, Vice Chair Susan Rockefeller, Executive Director Judy Kim, and the honorees and presenters, approximately 250 guests are expected including gala co-chairs: Wendy O’Neill and David Rayner, Mercedes Zobel, and gala vice chairs: Abigail Alvarez, Cai Guo-Qiang and Hong Hong Wu, Yama Gaw and Daphne King-Yao, Désirée Jebsen, Joe Nahmad and Sandy Heller, Janet Nathanail and William Flanz, and Ken Natori.
ASIAN CULTURAL COUNCIL
The Asian Cultural Council (ACC) connects artists, humanities scholars, and arts professionals across Asia and the U.S. Through fellowships, grants, achievement awards, public programs, alumni engagement, and other cultural exchange initiatives, ACC aims to build global arts communities whose individual and collective work serves to advance international dialogue for mutual understanding and respect. ACC is headquartered in New York City with global offices in Hong Kong, Manila, Taipei, and Tokyo. https://www.asianculturalcouncil.org/
HANS MICHAEL JEBSEN
Hans Michael Jebsen is the Chairman of Jebsen Group. He is Non-executive Director at Jebsen & Jessen Group, Jebsen & Jessen Hamburg, and Independent Non-executive Director at The Wharf (Holdings) Ltd.
Dedicated to community work, Mr. Jebsen is Chairman of the Hong Kong Section at the Hong Kong C Europe Business Council, and Chairman of the HKUST Business School Advisory Board. He established the Jebsen Educational Foundation to support two professorships at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Mr. Jebsen is also active in the non-profit sector: he serves as Member of the Board of Trustees of Asia Society Hong Kong, Trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong, Member of the Advisory Board of the Hong Kong Red Cross, Founder Member and Executive Council Member at the Asian Academy of International Law, and the former Chairman of the Asian Cultural Council in Hong Kong. Click here for more information.
DAVID ROCKEFELLER, JR.
David Rockefeller, Jr. is an active participant in the business and nonprofit arena, especially in the areas of environment, the arts and philanthropy. Mr. Rockefeller is a Trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and previously served as Chairman of the Rockefeller Foundation. He was twice Chairman of Rockefeller & Company, which became Rockefeller Capital Management in 2018 and where he now serves as a Director.
As a passionate supporter of the arts, Mr. Rockefeller is a trustee of the Asian Cultural Council and a life trustee of the Museum of Modern Art. He is also a fellow of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is the former chair of the North American Nominating Committee for the Praemium Imperiale, the Japanese prize for outstanding international achievement in the arts. Click here for more information.
TAKASHI MURAKAMI
Born in Tokyo in 1962, Murakami completed the doctoral program in Fine Arts at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1993. In 2000, he proposed “Superflat”, a concept/theory of contemporary visual culture that connects traditional Japanese art with the flatness of anime and manga while also referring to the state of Japanese society. In 2001, he established Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd., of which he is the president.
In 2024, he opened Takashi Murakami Mononoke Kyoto, his first solo exhibition in Japan in eight years, at Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art, where 170 of his new works are on view through September 1, 2024. He will also present 120 new works reinterpreting Utagawa Hiroshige’s 100 Famous Views of Edo at the Brooklyn Museum, April 5–August 4, 2024. These works invite us to reconsider Hiroshige’s world and his contributions to global art history.
PREVIOUS JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER 3RD AWARD RECIPIENTS
Previous recipients of the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Award include: Cai Guo-Qiang (2022); Midori (2022); Kengo Kuma (2019); Shen Wei (2017); Duk Hyung Yoo (2015); Amna Kusumo (2013); Pichet Klunchun (2013); Chinary Ung (2013); Samina Quraeshi (2010); Ratan Thiyam (2008); Nestor O. Jardin (2007); Lin Hwai Min (2006); Mella Jaarsma and Nindityo; Adipurnomo (2005); Judy Mitoma (2003); Yang Meiqi (2002); Ellen Stewart (2000); Proeung Chhieng (1999); Nguyen Van Huy (1998); Beate Gordon (1997); Ma Chengyuan (1996); Setsu Asakura (1995); Donald Richie (1993); Kapila Vatsyayan (1992); Chou Wen-chung (1991); Sherman E. Lee (1990); James R. Brandon (1988); Jose Maceda (1987); and, John M. Rosenfield (1986).
PREVIOUS HONOREES
Previous Asian Cultural Council gala honorees include Akiko Yamazaki (2022)
Please Note: Media attendance is by invitation and advance arrangement only.
More information: https://www.asianculturalcouncil.org
