Rees Visionary Award recipient Julie Mehretu, Nana Dabanka, and Isolde Brielmaier at the Amref Health Africa 2023 ArtBall.
On Saturday, February 25th, 2023, Amref Health Africa hosted their annual ArtBall and adjoining art auction, creating a connection between African culture and philanthropy to celebrate and highlight the talent of the African continent.
The event was hosted by Young Prince, and artist Tariku Shiferaw presented world-renowned artist Julie Mehretu with the Rees Visionary Award.
This year’s auction consisted of 38 pieces of contemporary African, Pan-African and Black art from emerging and established artists including Tariku Shiferaw, Helina Metaferia, Adjei Tawiah, Emily Manwaring, Chris Watts, and Damien Davis. The proceeds of the auction will benefit a youth-empowerment program run by Amref Health Africa in Ethiopia called Kefeta. Meaning “to empower” in Ethiopia’s Amharic language, Kefeta aims to create a nationwide network of professional, creative, and socially equitable services to reach two million young people by 2026. “It’s giving young people the skills, tools, and support to shape a better future for themselves and their country,” shared Emily Correale, director of development and communications in the United States.
The auction was curated by Natalie Kates, Cierra Britton, Fhatuwani Mukheli and Nadia Nascimento.
Guests ate West and East African food by Teranga and Bunna Cafe. Drinks were provided by Ten To One, McBride Sisters, 21Seeds, Ode To Babel, Cliffton Dry, Habesha, and Stella Artois. Almost 95% of the vendors across the event were minority-owned and operated.
Guests danced the night away with live music by Chop and Quench – The Fela! on Broadway band which included Tony Award nominated front man Sahr Ngaujah, and DJs Eden and TAO.
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