NYFA Hall of Fame Benefit

Nina Yankowitz is a visual artist based in New York City. Emerging in the American counterculture era, Yankowitz was inspired by Greenwich Village’s music scene to merge visual and auditory elements in her art. In the late 1960s, she innovated with draped and pleated paintings, employing spray-painted mists on unstretched canvases to create dynamic, atmospheric works that defied convention. Her unique style gained recognition, leading to her participation in the inaugural 1973 Whitney Biennial exhibit with her Painted Canvas Thread/String Reading. In the mid-1970s, Yankowitz joined women to form a feminist ‘Mother Collective’ to create HERESIES a feminist publication on art and politics, challenging society’s injustices and a male-dominated art world. Her art continues to push boundaries, using interactive technology and projections to address societal issues. Yankowitz’s work promotes awareness about causal abrupt climate changes and her advocacy for “Unsung (S)heroes” and underserved community rights.

Donna Uchizono is a dance artist based in New York City, and the artistic director of Donna Uchizono Company. Receiving public and critical recognition for her innovative movement language and distinct wit, Uchizono was commissioned to create work for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paula Vogel, Oskar Eustis, David Hammons, and Oliver Sacks. In 2011, after decades of critically acclaimed dance works that toured nationally and internationally, Uchizono was identified by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (NYPL) and Dance Heritage Coalition as a master choreographer whose works require preservation. Uchizono was recently distinguished by the NYPL as the first and only American-born choreographer of Asian ancestry in the history of Modern Dance to have received the recognition of both cumulative esteemed national awards, as well as the Guggenheim Fellowship, “The “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance Award, and the significant national and international touring of an eponymous dance company.

Rockefeller Capital Management (RCM) was established in 2018 as a leading independent financial advisory services company. The firm’s support for the arts and art education around the world continues a tradition dating back to its historic roots. It is currently partnering with NYFA to showcase works by NYFA-affiliated artists at 45 Rockefeller Plaza; the third installment of RCM x NYFA highlights a diverse group of artists, each distinct in their discipline and approach, spanning mediums like painting and sculpture. Originally founded in 1882 as the family office of John D. Rockefeller, the firm includes three businesses – the Rockefeller Global Family Office, Rockefeller Asset Management, and Rockefeller Strategic Advisory. It offers strategic advice and services to ultra- and high-net-worth individuals and families, institutions, and corporations from locations across the United States and in London. Gregory J. Fleming, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockefeller Capital Management, accepted on behalf of RCM.