ALEXANDER HANKIN reports from inside the boxing ring art bash
Photographs by Matteo Prandoni/BFA
New York’s coolest culture cult? Over 300 members of The Cultivist membership club and creative agency show up at the Prince George Ballroom for an immersive performance party/10-year anniversary bash.
Chris Watts and Cultivist CEO Marlies Verhoeven greet the crowd around a “boxing ring” – the unique setting curated by Joey Lico and Cheryl Pope for a series of wildly creative performances. Ayana Evans serves as emcee. Setting the avant-garde tone, Jesus Benavente takes on the persona of the “Round Person.” Ding, ding! Round 1: Phaan Howng and Rachel Martino perform After Arnold, followed by Caleb Hahne and Quintana Rogelio doing Manos De Piedra, a fiery homage to resilience and strength. Shaun Leonardo and Cheryl Pope mesmerize with Between the Lines, and Round 4: Hiba Schahbaz’s Sacred. Judges include Verhoeven, Judith Bernstein, Ludovic Nkoth and Eduardo Sarabia.
It’s performance art so I wear all-black Chrome Hearts. I run into Waris Ahluwalia, artist and activist Zoe Buckman, Coco Mellors, Isabelle Wilkinson, Laurence Milstein, Ally Shapiro and Leo Braundy, Polina Proskina (in a black Khaite dress) and Yvonne Force and Leo Villareal.
The performances end and Theophilus London takes the stage and gets the throng dancing. The best part of the night? The highly-collectible, exclusive tokens of the evening – a Nick Cave and Bob Faust-designed badge and “The Boxer,” a flip book (remember those?) by Sibba Hartunian.
