Member Appreciation Event Supports Alabama-Based Photographer

UANYC members enjoyed art and music in support of Alabama-based photographer RaMell Ross

     

June 13, 2011

Photo Gallery

NEW YORK -- Art was the backdrop and service was the theme for the 2011 Greater New York Chapter Member Appreciation Event, held in conjunction with the opening night of For|By|For's inaugural exhibition, Refuge: The Photography of RaMell Ross, at the Wix Lounge in the Flatiron district of Manhattan.

UANYC members and University students in New York City on summer internships were on hand to enjoy the work of Alabama-based photographer RaMell Ross. His three-part photographic series Refuge is a visual account of YouthBuild initiatives in the Black Belt community of Greensboro, Ala., that is on view June 13-24 at the Wix Lounge, a free work and event space for creative professionals.

Ross, a 2005 Georgetown graduate, currently serves as the YouthBuild Job Placement Manager at the Hale Empowerment and Revitalization Organization (HERO), a 501(c)3 non-profit housing resource center founded in 1994 as a catalyst for community development in areas of the Alabama Black Belt to end rural poverty. Merging his passions for art and service, Refuge is Ross' first solo exhibition to raise awareness of the social issues in his Greensboro community. He has been previously published with The New York Times, ESPN, Penguin Group, The Washington Post, Simon and Schuster, Business Week, Food and Wine Magazine, Garden and Guns Magazine, CNN, Ready Made Magazine and several online publications.

In support of the exhibit's mission, the chapter extended $250 donation to HERO. UANYC President Christopher Hollinger presented the donation to Sara Williamson, YouthBuild Program Manager, and Ashley Gallman, For|By|For Co-Founder and Director of Development.

For|By|For is a fiscally-sponsored project of Artists in Residence Gallery, a 501(c)3 non-profit arts organization. For|By|For exhibitions aim to bring together a new audience of art collectors who are looking beyond the bottom line for art that inspires and heals not only themselves but the global community. Through exhibiting affordable art by new talent, For|By|For is dedicated to brining awareness and financial aid to charitable organizations working to bring life back to forgotten people and places. For|By|For is art for people, by the people, and above all, for the greater good. For more information, go to www.forbyfor.org.