Look To The Stars News: Ashley Olsen

Celebrities Flock To Heaven Charity Gala

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:00:00 -0000

The Art of Elysium annual Heaven gala attracted a massive group of celebrity supporters this year.

The black tie event was held in Beverly Hills on Saturday night, January 16, and honored Kirsten Dunst for her work with the charity. Some of the stars that came out to help her celebrate included Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Adam Lambert,Jason Bateman, Rachel Bilson, Kate Bosworth, Sophia Bush, Scarlett Johansson, Ali Larter , Benji Madden, Nicole Richie & Joel Madden, Ashley Olsen, Ryan Seacrest, Bonnie Somerville, Mark Wahlberg, Alicia Witt, Topher Grace, Alexander Skarsgård, Camilla Belle and many more.

The Art of Elysium is a non-profit organization, founded in 1997 by Jennifer Howell, which encourages actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serious medical conditions. They provide artistic workshops in the following disciplines: acting, art, comedy, fashion, music, radio, songwriting and creative writing. They work with numerous hospitals and hospices throughout Los Angeles, California and began servicing hospitals in New York, New York in 2009.

Stars To Be In Heaven For Charity Event

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:00:00 -0000

The Art of Elysium is holding their Third Annual Black Tie charity gala titled “Heaven” on Saturday, January 16, 2010. The event will take place the night before the Golden Globes and will honor Kirsten Dunst

Artist Shepard Fairey (creator of “Obey Giant” and the force behind the Obama “Hope” poster) is this year’s visionary and will create all visual and conceptual aspects of the themed gala entitled “Heaven”.

“When I was asked by The Art of Elysium to conceive my vision of heaven, I immediately thought of a world where creativity, compassion and connection are celebrated,” he said. “I thought of humanity and nature existing in harmony; after all, humans are part of nature, not above nature, and connected to one another just the same. We need to look out for each other and understand how our actions impact others and the planet we inhabit.”

Kirsten Dunst will be receiving the “Spirit of Elysium” Award at the gala: “Art has always held a therapeutic and fulfilling place in my life, as it allows me to channel any sort of negativity and turn it into something positive. I applaud The Art of Elysium for introducing that idea to the lives of young people who are courageously battling serious and terminal illnesses. The warriors I have gotten to meet through The Art of Elysium have blown me away with their humor, their sophistication and their wisdom. I feel so lucky to be able to spend time with them. They embody a kind of strength rarely seen in most adults. The relationships I have within The Art of Elysium community are very close to my heart and I will treasure them always.”

Kirsten has been an enthusiastic supporter of The Art of Elysium for over six years. In that time, she has been very active in the hospital programs, participating in plays, as well as reading to and doing artwork with the children. Additionally, she has secured considerable financial support for the organization, as well as serving as a valuable partner in working with important corporate sponsors. Both the 2009 Visionary, Jim Sheridan and the 2009 “Spirit of Elysium” award recipient, Eva Mendes will be in attendance to pass the torch to Shepard and Kirsten.

The event will take place at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard with cocktails beginning at 7:00 pm followed by Dinner and a Vogue Fashion Show starting at 8:00 pm. The private after party will take place at a location within the venue and will feature a musical tribute to the works of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed with special performances by Billy Idol and Steve Jones with other surprise guests. The turn tables will host various deejays including Elijah Wood, Steve Jones, Chris Holmes and Shepard Fairey.

Founder of The Art of Elysium, Jennifer Howell states, "Heaven on earth for The Art of Elysium is bringing artists to the bedsides of hospitalized children and empowering the artists to give the gift of their creative process. The “Heaven” gala was created to give a visionary the license to create their own personal version of “Heaven” and it is our hope that by experiencing “Heaven” year after year that guests reflect on the mission of the charity and ask themselves what is the best way to give back. We are so grateful to Shepard Fairey for sharing his belief in interconnectivity with us and to Kirsten Dunst for being the true “Spirit of Elysium”. A very special thank you to the Chairman of the Board and Event Co-Chair Ryan Kavanaugh for all that he does to allow us to give our children artistic experiences. A thank you to the Event Co-Chairs Lisa Love, Shawn Stanford and Jean-Christophe Bedos for contributing both their personal time and companies’ support to making this year’s event a tremendous success."

Other celebrities confirmed to attend include Jason Bateman, Rachel Bilson, Kate Bosworth, Sophia Bush, Scarlett Johansson, Ali Larter , Benji Madden, Nicole Richie & Joel Madden, Ashley Olsen, Ryan Seacrest, Bonnie Somerville, Mark Wahlberg, Alicia Witt and many more.

For more information on The Art of Elysium please go to www.theartofelysium.org.

For ticket and sponsor information please contact Deborah Marcus at dmarcus@theartofelysium.org.

Tobey Maguire Attends Skid Row Housing Event

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:00:00 -0000

The Skid Row Housing Trust hosted a 20th Anniversary Gala Celebration and Open House at the New Carver Apartments in Los Angeles last night and attracted a host of stars.

The event was held in the Trust’s 22nd building that provides supportive housing for Los Angeles’ homeless community. Guests included Tobey Maguire, Jen Meyer, Sarah Meyer, Ashley Olsen, Justin Bartha, Scott Speedman, Julie Bowen, Sam Trammell, Kat Dennings, Alison Hannigan, Oliver Hudson, January Jones, Justin Long, and New Zealand-born actress Melanie Lynsky, as well as Los Angeles’ elite, business leaders, members of the interior design community and architect, Michael Maltzan.

Four of the apartments feature resident inspired designs by celebrated Los Angeles designers, Katie Fine, Molly Luetkemeyer, Ruthie Sommer and Estee Stanley.

The Skid Row Housing Trust has been ending homelessness for the most vulnerable men and women in Los Angeles for the past 20 years. The Trust develops, manages and operates homes for the homeless, offers permanent supportive housing, and a complete range of support services necessary to move beyond poverty, illness and addiction.

The Trust is responsible for 22 buildings and over 1,300 residents who live in them. Skid Row Housing Trust was founded in 1989 and is a nonprofit organization.

For more info, go to www.skidrow.org.

Celebrity-Signed Books Up For Grabs For Charity

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Whether you are looking for a good book to read while stretched out on the beach, or – for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere – searching for something to curl up with in bed on a frosty winter’s night, there will be something for you in the SAG Foundation’s Celebrity Autographed Book Auction.

The Screen Actor's Guild Foundation is raising money for it’s literacy programs by auctioning off books signed by your favorite stars. Going under the hammer are titles such as The Olsen Twins' Influence, Michael J. Fox's Always Looking Up, Heidi Klum's Body of Knowledge, Julianne Moore's Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, Tom Colicchio's Craft of Cooking, William Shatner's Quest For Tomorrow, Alison Sweeney's All The Days Of My Life, Kirk Douglas' Let’s Face It, Jenny McCarthy's Healing and Preventing Autism, Larry King's My Remarkable Journey, Tori Spelling's Mommywood, Sean Astin’s There and Back Again, John Lithgow’s The Poet’s Corner and many more.

Proceeds from the auction benefit the Screen Actors Guild Foundation’s literacy effort, which began in 1992 and now includes such programs as:

BookPALS, a volunteer program comprised of performing artists who read aloud to students in schools, hospitals and libraries.
We The Children, which teaches children the value of books and the importance of their lives by giving them the opportunity to write and illustrate their family history.
Storyline Online, an online interactive website which brings the excitement of books into the classroom and home.

The auction runs until July 28 and can be accessed here.

Children's Charity Celebrates Tenth Anniversary

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:27:55 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A major children’s charity celebrated 10 years of service last weekend by holding a black-tie gala attended by a host of celebrities.

The gala and fashion show, held on January 13 in Los Angeles, was in honor of The Art of Elysium, a charity that uses drama, music, and art to help children who suffer from serious medical conditions. Sponsored by Vogue and Cartier, the event attracted a crowd of stars who took advantage of the opportunity to support the organization, with Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, Lenny Kravitz, Ellen DeGeneres, Courteney Cox, Zach Braff, Ashley Olsen, and Casey Affleck all being spotted at the event.

The Art of Elysium was founded by Jennifer Howell in 1997, with the goal of helping 350 critically ill children in the Los Angeles area every week. By encouraging actors, artists, and musicians to donate their time to the children, the charity grew exponentially, and in 2007 over 20,000 children across North America benefited from the organization’s art-related workshops.

“The Art of Elysium exists because of the passion that artists hold in their hearts,” said Howell. “By serving children in need, the artist is allowed to express this passion in ways that could never be revealed on stage, in a gallery, or behind a camera. As Saint Francis said, ‘It is in giving that we receive’.”

Patricia Arquette, another guest at the gala, summed up the general feeling of the evening when she said: “I’m so glad the Golden Globes were cancelled, because it draws more attention to this.”

More information on how to support The Art Of Elysium can be found at www.theartofelysium.org.

Celebrity Designed Corsets On Auction

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:06:55 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Some of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities have teamed up to design a series of corsets to be auctioned off in October.

Scarlett Johansson, Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher, and Jessica Biel are just some of the stars who have submitted designs for the 4th annual Frederick’s Of Hollywood Celebrity Corset Auction. The event, which is being run in conjunction with the internet charity auction site Clothes Off Our Back, will raise money for a variety of children’s charities, including Second Harvest, a non-profit organization that benefits the hungry, The Art of Elysium, which uses art to help the sick, and World Education, a charity that provides training to underprivileged children around the world. Some of the proceeds will also go towards research into autism.

“In previous years, we got $18,000 for Charlize Theron's corset and $10,000 for Nicole Kidman's," said Frederick’s of Hollywood’s Erin Dominguez. “Each year we set the bar higher and hope to get more.”

To create the pieces, the celebrities were each given a special design kit to make a sketch of their creation. It was then up to costume designer Linda Stokes, best known for dressing Gwen Stefani on tour, to produce the garments.

“You get to draw and sketch,” said Eva Longoria about her design. “And I sketched some tulle at the top and it has all of this beading.”

Andy Garcia, star of the Ocean’s 11 movies, was inspired in his design by the flag of his native Cuba. Others took a more fanciful approach, with Ashley Olsen's design dripping black feathers, and Kyra Sedgwick's creation appearing to have garbage trailing off the hem. Other celebrities involved in the campaign include Christina Aguilera, actress and Clothes Off Our Back founder Jane Kaczmarek, Maria Menounos, Gabrielle Union, Ashlee Simpson, Mandy Moore, Debra Messing, Fergie, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette.

The event kicked off on October 25, with a live auction hosted at Frederick’s flagship store on Hollywood Boulevard, and the online auction runs until November 5 on www.clothesoffourback.org.

“I think you should bid on any and all of them,” said Oscar nominee Julianne Moore, whose peacock inspired design is featured in the auction. “I love them, and it’s a great cause.”

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