The Art of Elysium’s Heaven Gala celebrated its eighth annual ceremony last Saturday at Hangar 8 in Santa Monica, California. The non-profit organization is a global charity-based association for artists committed to alleviating those in need. Its purpose is to provide an outlet for the creative community to give back to their organization of choice. Those involved use their skills, support and encouragement to give back to the cause that they care about most. Each year, The Art of Elysium holds a celebration to commemorate that year’s achievements and award a highlighted member’s contributions.
This year, Amber Heard joined past honorees such as Eva Mendes, James Franco, Kirsten Dunst, and David Arquette in being honored with the organization’s Spirit of Elysium award. During her acceptance speech, Heard emphasized the importance of community involvement and charitable action to further and more suitably understand oneself.
In celebration, performance artist Marina Abramović created a reflection of Heaven and the state of consciousness in which light and darkness meet through limiting senses and other usual commonalities. For the first hour of the night, guests were asked to wear Samsung Level headphones and communicate through Samsung Galaxy Note 4 devices that were stationed around the event space for her “Silence is Golden” experience.
Afterward, the core values of the organization–fashion, film, music, and fine art– were highlighted through a live musical performance by Moby, DJ set by Elijah Wood, an exclusive pre-fall 2015 fashion show by Costume National, and screening of the 3-D video Evolution (Megaplex) by Marco Brambilla.
It was an exceptional celebration to note with sponsors, supporters, and partners such as Samsung, Delta Air Lines, Grey Goose Vodka, Rolls-Royce, Tweezerman, The Hollywood Roosevelt, SBE Entertainment, and The Bazaar aiding in providing experiences for charitable attendees like Johnny Depp, Camilla Belle, Usher, Joaquin Phoenix, Jaime King, Eli and Edythe Broad, Nyakio and David Grieco, Val Kilmer, Michelle Papillion, Michael Stipe, Gus Van Sant.
“The Art of Elysium is an artist charity at its core and I think we demonstrated that this evening with the help of the incredible Marina Abramović,” said Jennifer Howell, founder of The Art of Elysium. “We are also thankful for Amber Heard who is a committed member of our organization’s army of volunteers and were thankful to be able to honor her appropriately with our Spirit of Elysium award tonight.”
