Christy Turlington Burns is set to host the African Rainforest Conservancy’s 20th Annual Artists for Africa Benefit next month.
You can join Christy and her fellow Benefit Committee members, Edward Burns, James Ferrari, James Gandolfini, Matt Dillon, Lauren Hutton, Jean Lee, Ion Yadigaroglu, Millen Magese, Fisher Stevens and Rachel Weisz on Wednesday, February 9 at The Prince George Ballroom in New York, and help them celebrate two decades of conserving and restoring Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Rainforest. This year’s event will honor Deloitte LLP UK for their commitment to keeping the Eastern Arc standing for future generations.
The party begins at 6:00 with a VIP Cocktail Reception and Art Preview, followed by a silent auction, live auction, dinner and entertainment. Artists who have contributed works to the auction include William Abranowicz, Nick Brandt, Cyril Christo & Marie Wilkinson, Chris Dei, Paige De Ponte, Melanie Dunea, James Ferrari, Gerald Förster, Liz Gilbert, Gregory Goode, Mark Heithoff, Susanna Noel Jolly, Alison Jones, Chris Jordan, Carlo Mari, Wayne Maser, Raphael Mazzuco & Anthony Russel, Arthur Meyerson, Jonnie Miles, Beth O’Donnell, Joseph Peter, Matthew McMullen Smith, Spencer Tunick and Joe Zammit Lucia.
Founded in 1991, ARC conserves and restores African rainforests – among the oldest and most biodiverse in the world – through grassroots conservation and community development projects. Working alongside its field partner, the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), ARC currently supports a network of 140 villages in eight mountain and coastal regions throughout Tanzania that are working together to protect 250,000 acres of forest.
With ARC’s support, the network has planted over ten million trees to reduce human pressure on the natural forests, and is involved in projects ranging from environmental education to small-income development to the introduction of fuel-efficient cook stoves – all to advance environmental and socio-economic goals.
“Ask most Americans about the importance of conserving the world’s rainforests, and any facts and figures on their radars are focused on the rainforests of Brazil, Indonesia, and perhaps the Congo. Few realize rainforests even exist in East Africa, let alone that they are some of the most biologically diverse rainforests in the entire world,” says Kate McLetchie, the ARC’s executive director. “These forests are home to over 114 vertebrate species and 1,500 plant and tree species found nowhere else in the world.”
Tickets to this year’s event can be purchased at WWW.AFRICANRAINFOREST.ORG. Advance tickets are on sale until the 26th of January, starting at $125 for the cocktail party, with prices rising after that date. To learn more about the African Rainforest Conservancy’s work, visit their website or watch their video on YouTube.
