Virtual event hosted by Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Costume Institute premiered institution’s new Geoffrey Beene Archive, raised funds for fashion exhibitions and education programs

Mar, 11, 2021

Special Events and ProgramsCollectionsFashion Design

Virtual event hosted by Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona Costume Institute premiered institution’s new Geoffrey Beene Archive, raised funds for fashion exhibitions and education programs

Geoffrey Beene: A Duet of Fashion and Movement featured insider access to new archive of more than 400 Beene garments

PHOENIX (March 11, 2021) – Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona Costume Institute (ACI), a Museum affiliate group that supports the institution’s fashion-design collection, presented Geoffrey Beene: A Duet of Fashion and Movement, the virtual unveiling of the new Geoffrey Beene Archive at Phoenix Art Museum, on Thursday, February 11, 2021. The virtual fundraiser engaged nearly 600 guests and raised more than $133,000 of vital support for the Museum’s fashion-design exhibitions, acquisitions, educational programs, and archival preservation.

“We are deeply grateful to the board of Arizona Costume Institute and its members for their ongoing generous support of Phoenix Art Museum,” said Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO. “ACI continues to play a pivotal role in building the Museum’s renowned fashion-design collection, which now includes the newly established Geoffrey Beene Archive. We extend our thanks to the planning committee of dedicated ACI members who organized this superb event and to our benefactors and community for supporting this landmark moment in our institution’s history. We also extend special gratitude to Patsy Tarr, whose donation of nearly 400 garments serves as the foundation of our expansive Beene Archive.” 

Attendees of the virtual event enjoyed the world premiere of a short film created by the Museum in collaboration with Phoenix-based Manley Films that closely examines 25 works from the Beene Archive and explores the sense of movement and artistry inherent in the late designer’s work. The evening also featured Patsy Tarr, founding contributor to the Beene Archive at Phoenix Art Museum, president of the 2wice Arts Foundation, and founder and publisher of 2wice magazine and books; a dance homage by former dancer for the New York City Ballet and longtime Beene model Deanna McBrearty; and a conversation between McBrearty and Doug Varone, choreographer for three runway presentations of Beene’s collections, which featured dancers from the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet.

In addition to the Beene film and featured speakers, the evening included messages from Tim Rodgers, PhD, the Museum’s Sybil Harrington Director and CEO; Helen Jean, the Museum’s Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design; and Kathie May, president of Arizona Costume Institute. The event also engaged students from local high schools and colleges by inviting them to participate in a Geoffrey Beene-inspired style and design contest. Attendees of the event were encouraged to vote for their favorite designs, and all student participants received recognition for their outstanding work. A Duet of Fashion and Movement, which additionally featured a style-focused raffle and silent auction, replaced the annual ACI Holiday Luncheon, which has been postponed to December 6, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and raises vital funds each year in support of the Museum’s fashion-design program.

Phoenix Art Museum is deeply grateful to the benefactors and underwriters who supported Arizona Costume Institute and the Museum’s fashion-design department through Geoffrey Beene: A Duet of Fashion and Movement.

BEENE BENEFACTORS ($5,000+)

Lee Cohn

Gloria Cowen

Jacquie Dorrance

Kelly Ellman

Judy Goldberg

Janet Henrich Glaser

Brenda Howard

Jane Jozoff

Ellen Katz

Margot Knight

Polly Levine

Janis Lyon

Ina Manaster

Mary Ellen McKee

Kolby Moffatt

Carole Moreno

Patricia Petznick

Lisa Portigal

Jana Sample

Sue Selig

Paula Smalley

PREMIER DONORS ($1,000+)

Amy Cohn

Catherine Dickey

Sally Lehmann

Janice Lewart

Kathie May

Doris Ong

EN VOGUE DONORS ($500+)

Linda Jones

Barbara Sturdivant

Sheila Zuieback

COUTURE DONORS ($250+)

Alice Bazlen

Sandy Becker

Ronna Beeson

Vanessa Boehm

Kay Butler

Dena Cameron

Stephanie Cargill

Iris Cashdan-Fishman

Eleanor Corridan

Shelly Dessen

Ruby Farias

Wendy Farrell

Amy Flood

Kate Groves

Donna Johnson

Barbara Kammerzell

Linda Langer

Agnes Lardizabal

Miranda Lumer

Andrea Mackie

John Otto

Linda Peshkin

Helene Presutti

Rebel Rice

Carrie Lynn Richardson

Sue Robisch

Lois Savage

Lisa Shapiro

Khamsone Sirimanivong

Ina Smeets Kort

Diana Smith

Sandy Solomon

Joy Sprink

Todd and Kelley Sucher

Ingrid Sutton

UNDERWRITERS

Fairmount Development, LLC

Karma Event Productions

JL Patisserie

Manley Films

The Red Book

RAFFLE & AUCTION DONORS

ARTenders

Dazzle Dry

Francine Restaurant

Gorgeous Things

Jewel Ya

Katalin Festy-Sandor

Kelley Sucher

Kiss Me Kate

Maple & Ash

MD Skin Lounge and Bar

Neiman Marcus

OBJECTS

Pax Philomena

Perrine Adams

Rosa Kilgore

Saint by Sarah Jane

Sandy Becker

Shapiro Aesthetic Plastic Surgery & Skin Klinic

Soul Carrier

SoulCare by CCC/ SoulCare in Surplus

The Collector’s House

The Garment League

The Museum Store

The Paper Place

Vibrant Skin Bar

Vim and Vigor Candle Co.

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa

White Sun

Phoenix Art Museum extends its deepest thanks to the planning committee of Geoffrey Beene: A Duet of Fashion and Movement, including committee chairs Perrine Adams, Ruby Farias, Laura Madden, and Kelley Sucher; committee members Sandy Becker, Amy Gause, Janet Henrich Glaser, Jan Herwick, Kathie May, and Khamsone Sirimanivong; Helen Jean, the Jacquie Dorrance Curator of Fashion Design; and Christina Brown, Director of Membership Programs at Phoenix Art Museum. The Museum also expresses its gratitude to Ellen Katz, longtime Museum supporter and Honorary Trustee.

About Phoenix Art Museum

Since 1959, Phoenix Art Museum has provided millions of guests with access to world-class art and experiences in an effort to ignite imaginations, create meaningful connections, and serve as a brave space for all people who wish to experience the transformative power of art. Located in Phoenix’s Central Corridor, the Museum is a vibrant destination for the visual arts and the largest art museum in the southwestern United States. Each year, more than 300,000 guests engage with critically acclaimed national and international exhibitions and the Museum’s collection of more than 20,000 works of American and Western American, Asian, European, Latin American, modern and contemporary art, and fashion design. The Museum also presents a comprehensive film program, live performances, and educational programs designed for visitors of all ages, along with vibrant photography exhibitions made possible through the Museum’s landmark partnership with the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona. To learn more about Phoenix Art Museum, visit phxart.org, or call 602.257.1880.

About the Fashion-Design Collection of Phoenix Art Museum

Founded in 1966, the fashion-design collection of Phoenix Art Museum features more than 8,000 objects, including American and European men’s, women’s, and children’s dress and accessories dating from the late 17th century to the present. The Museum organizes two fashion exhibitions annually that draw from the renowned collection and are presented in the Kelly Ellman Fashion Design Gallery. Phoenix Art Museum is one of only seven art museums in the country with a long and continuously active fashion program.

About the Geoffrey Beene Archive at Phoenix Art Museum

The Geoffrey Beene Archive at Phoenix Art Museum features more than 400 garments by the late designer, more than 350 of which were donated in 2019 to the Museum by Patsy Tarr, president of the 2wice Arts Foundation and founder and publisher of 2wice magazines and books. Spanning the 1980s through the 1990s, Tarr’s gift of custom-made ensembles and accessories, including jumpsuits, trousers, vests, boleros, gowns, collars, and more, established the Museum as one of the nation’s leading institutions with holdings of Beene’s designs. The Geoffrey Beene Archive at Phoenix Art Museum is one of three archives in the Museum’s renowned fashion-design collection of more than 8,000 objects, joined by the Museum’s Ann Bonfoey Taylor Archive, featuring the extraordinary custom-couture wardrobe of American-socialite and tastemaker Ann Bonfoey Taylor, and the Emphatics Archive, featuring rare, avant-garde fashions and accessories by renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, John Galliano, and Jean Paul Gaultier.

About Arizona Costume Institute

Arizona Costume Institute (ACI) was founded in 1966 to support the fashion-design department of Phoenix Art Museum. ACI promotes the appreciation and understanding of fashion design through education programs and fundraising efforts that benefit the Museum’s fashion exhibitions and support the preservation and acquisition of historically and aesthetically significant works. Through the enthusiasm of dedicated volunteers, ACI helps maintain and expand the Museum’s fashion collection. To learn more about Arizona Costume Institute, visit arizonacostumeinstitute.org.