Last week in Miami, we gathered at 1111 Lincoln Road, the Herzog & de Meuron-designed structure where the 7th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series event was held.
The art competition is led by Russell and Danny Simmons’ Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation. “Now in its seventh year, the Artisan Series program has completely established its presence within the creative community and continues to evolve with this year’s new Creative Time collaboration. The caliber of talent and quality of work gets better year upon year and I look forward to seeing Darius Frank’s solo exhibition at SCOPE Miami Beach next winter,” said Bombay Sapphire Vice President, Brand Managing Director Ned Duggan.
Darius Frank
The 7th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Grand Finale: Hosted By Russell Simmons. Photo by Zach Hilty for BFA. Courtesy of Bombay Sapphire.
The night featured 16 finalists that were all competing for the grand prize—a collaboration in Spring 2017 with New York-based art nonprofit Creative Time—and were judged by a panel of the Simmons brothers, SCOPE’s Daria Brit Greene, Creative Time’s Katie Hollander, and painter Kim Dorland.
As we made our way around the space, sipping Bombay Sapphire cocktails and listening to mixed music by DJ Jermaine Dupri, we caught sight of artwork by the competitors, and then the winners: Philadelphia-based Grand Prize winner Darius Frank, First Place Prize winner Jimmy Jenkins Jr., and People’s Choice winner Ivan Alifan.
The 7th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Grand Finale: Hosted By Russell Simmons. Photo by Zach Hilty for BFA. Courtesy of Bombay Sapphire.
“Over the past seven years, the Artisan Series program has uncovered truly inspiring talent and in doing so, has cemented its mark in the creative community. I am so proud of our longstanding partnership with Bombay Sapphire as we continue on our journey of discovering visual artists across North America. I can’t wait to see how Creative Time and Darius Frank’s collaborative vision come to life next spring,” said Russell Simmons.
Notable guests like A$AP Rocky, Rosario Dawson, and Sasha Lane were seen mingling amongst the crowd, enjoying hor d’oeuvres, and sipping on one-of-a-kind cocktails in celebration of the exciting event.
The 7th Annual Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Grand Finale: Hosted By Russell Simmons. Photo by Zach Hilty for BFA. Courtesy of Bombay Sapphire.
“Exposing your work to thousands of artists, critics, collectors and art industry leaders at an international festival like SCOPE, Miami Beach is something you always dream of as an artist. I am so grateful to have the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series as a platform and to have met so many inspiring creatives throughout this process. I look forward to collaborating with a groundbreaking arts organization like Creative Time and learning how to inspire people with my work,” said Frank.
