At the Raquet and Tennis Club FIAC (FOUNDATION FOR ITALIAN ART & CULTURE) honored Brooklyn Museum Director Anne Pasternak with the FIAC Excellency Award 2022.
In the presence of FIAC Chairman Daniele Bodini, President Alain Elkann, Italian Ambassador to the United Nations Maurizio Massari, Consul General in New York Fabrizio Di Michele, and Director of the Italian Cultural Institute Fabio Finotti, Director Pasternak was recognized for transforming the Brooklyn Museum into a bold, pioneering and global center for the visual arts.
Through her leadership, Anne Pasternak has expanded exposition, educational and public programs, and promoted special exhibitions, including The Legacy of Lynching: Confronting Racial Terror in America, We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85, Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern, David Bowie is, Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, and Frida Kahlo: Appearances Deceive.
This confirms the great commitment of FIAC, a nonprofit organization founded in New York in 2003, in promoting Italian cultural and artistic traditions from the classical to the contemporary period in the United States.
In fact, FIAC works closely with the Italian Ministry of Cultural Affairs and leading Italian cultural institutions to spread the appreciation of Italian art in the United States, and annually awards prizes to prominent figures in the United States and Italy. The 2022 awards were made possible by the generosity of the Alexander Bodini Charitable Foundation.
During the evening, Daniele Bodini and Alain Elkann recalled the great work done by Anne Pasternak to “engage a wide audience with the power of art to move, motivate and inspire, never forgetting the civic and democratic role that cultural and educational institutions can play by engaging in projects that demonstrate the crucial links between art and social justice.”
The theme was also emphasized by Ambassador Maurizio Massari, who recalled “the great importance of art and culture in maintaining world peace and unity among peoples.”
The Ambassador’s words were particularly appreciated by Pasternak, who recounted the work done precisely in this regard in the creation of the Brooklyn Museum’s new strategic plan, designed to create stimulating encounters with art and engage the public in current issues.
Congratulations also came from Consul General Di Michele and Director Finotti, who praised FIAC for organizing and making possible an evening with around the table such big names in the New York cultural scene as the Director of the Guggheneim Museum Richard Armstrong, the Director of the Morgan Library Colin Bailey and the Director of the Frick Collection Ian Wardropper.
