National Asian Artists Project's 2023 Gala Benefit will be held June 2 in Manhattan at The Golden Unicorn.
Entitled At The Corner of Chinatown and Broadway—Returns!, the evening will be directed by NAAP Executive Artistic Director Baayork Lee and Richard Jay-Alexander, with music direction by Joey Chancey. Attendees can expect performances from P.S. 124's Theatre Club and the NAAP Broadway Community Chorus.
The gala will also include a salute to 2023 honorees Lori Tan Chinn (M. Butterfly, Orange Is the New Black), Virginia Wing (When the World Was Young, Good Guys Wear Black), and Henry Yuk (The Sopranos, The Last Dragon) as well as special recognition presentations to Peter Pileski, Cassey Kivnick, and the late Bob Avian and Susan Kikuchi for their support of National Asian Artists Project through the years.
"It’s going to do my heart good to see us reassemble on June 2 in Chinatown for the first time in four years, to raise needed funds for NAAP,” says Lee. “It will be a wonderful reunion and I look forward to honoring and recognizing some extraordinary people who have been part of the business and a big part of our community landscape for so long. We will have performers on hand and be announcing our plans for a fall show. I hope to see you there and hug you in person. Let’s celebrate National Asian Artists Project!"
“Whenever Baayork Lee asks to join her to put together a NAAP event, it’s impossibe to say no,” adds Jay-Alexander. “I have been a fan of the organization, watching them grow exponentially over the years as they bust out of Chinatown and onto the world stage. It’s going to be a wonderful evening and the first time we have all been together since coming out of COVID.”
The evening will begin at 6 PM and will include a traditional eight-course Chinese banquet, followed by entertainment and the awards presentation.
National Asian Artists Project, a community of artists, educators, administrators, community leaders, and professionals, is a not-for-profit organization that recognizes the need to build bridges between the work of artists of Asian descent and the many communities that the work can serve, from underserved primary school students to seasoned arts patrons.
Tickets are $350 and are available for purchase online here. For further information, click here.
