Freer and Sackler Gala
Celebrating Asian Art and Culture

Over 200 guests celebrated the art and culture of Asia as well as the variety and strength of the Freer and Sackler galleries’ exhibitions at a black-tie dinner on Friday, May 7. The evening included a preview of the Sackler’s new exhibition “Caliphs and Kings: The Art and Influence of Islamic Spain,” as well as diplomatic receptions and post-dinner salons hosted by the ambassadors of Portugal, Spain, Kuwait, Turkey, Japan, and Iraq. Michael Sonnenreich chaired the gala with the help of Ann Nitze and Archduchess Inmaculada de Habsburgo-Lorena

Guests took advantage of the invitation’s suggested attire “Asian fancy,” and the resulting gamut of colors and patterns ran from Moroccan silk caftans to Chinese embroidered silk jackets. Proceeds from the gala benefit an upcoming exhibition at the Sackler, “Iraq and China: Ceramics, Trade, and Innovation.”

Mandy and Mary Ourisman with Jillian Sackler	“Staircase-IV,” on view at the Sackler, by artist Do-Ho Suh

Portugese Amb. Pedro Catarino and Iraqi Amb.-designate Rend Al-Rahim	David and Glenna Osnos

Ned Rifkin and Lorraine Adams	Massumeh Farhad, Anas and Marjan Shallal

Jacqueline Mars	Ann Cleland	Mary McFadden	Ann Nitze

Photos by Zaid Hamid