MOCA POP 8½ Celebrates “La Dolce Vita”
Benefiting MOCA’s Permanent Collection
North Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art, fondly known as “MOCA,” is known for great art and great parties. The layout of the museum, with its expansive outdoor area, lends itself to fabulous affairs. This year’s Pop 8½ La Dolce Vita fundraiser was no exception.
The Fellini-themed event raised roughly $500,000 for MOCA’s permanent collection and brought out the creative side of many guests in the process. Among the elegantly dressed partygoers were many who took their inspiration from memorable Fellini characters, channeling their best Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg.
The charm and beauty of Italy was recreated at the museum with sleek décor, murals of Roman landmarks by artist Pablo Cano and bold graphics designed by celebrated New York designer, Zoa Martinez.
The scene was kept lively with good music, good food and lots of good energy. Party goers got their groove on throughout the night and the dance floor was continuously packed. In fact, Golden Beach native Erin Newberg was seen dancing on a speaker, while Sanford and Dolores Ziff were photographed with the fabulous Anastasia the Great.
Other notable attendees included artist Frank Stella, MOCA Chairman Irma Braman, North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns, WSVN anchor Belkys Nerey, Alan and Diane Lieberman of The Catalina Hotel & Beach Resort, Ana Laura Arellano, Sofia and Mike Segal, Diana and Louis Jaffe, Rosa and Carlos De la Cruz and Constance Collins and Marty Margulies.
The cuisine was served buffet style with several serving stations that offered a variety of Italian dishes. Chefs from Bice Ristorante, Nikki Coconut Grove, and Shiraz Catering shared in the cooking duties, while Karla Conceptual Event Experiences and Le Basque Catering provided event coordination. The wines came courtesy of Diageo, with Grey Goose Vodka and Peroni supplying the bar.
The La Dolce Vita Club was a more intimate area of the party that was designed for Pop sponsors. The private reception area was styled by Ana Suarez-Borgos with a special menu by Sonesta Bayfront Hotel and champagnes from Diageo. The area also featured special, one-of-a-kind silent auction items such as front row seats to the Armani fashion show in Paris, a portrait by Enoc Perez and a week in a historic villa on Lake Como in Northern Italy donated by FAI, Italy’s National Historic Trust.
At the heart of the event were POP 8½ co-chairs Lourdes Jofre-Collett and Susan Zarchen, and, of course, MOCA Director Bonnie Clearwater. Bonne made a toast to the Knight Foundation for its recent gift of a $5 million endowment to the museum for new exhibitions.
Be sure to see our POP 8½ photo gallery, too. Photos from this great event were captured by well-known event photographer David Heischrek.
