Daily Front Row

2009 March 3

Titans of Tribeca

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Isabelle Guggenheim with President Bill Clinton and Eileen Guggenheim
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(NEW YORK) Former President Bill Clinton had quite a busy schedule yesterday. First, he gave a speech to honor his good friend Billie Jean King at Madison Square Garden then watched an exhibition match between Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams. Williams won the mini-tournament last night, but Clinton enthusiastically clapped and rooted for the Serbian during the semifinal. He then took his car (and entourage) downtown where he caused a stir at the Tribeca Ball for The New York Academy of Art. He joined Eileen and Isabelle Guggenheim for a quick drink and made a toast to the $400,000 raised for the institution at the event.

And the ball itself was sort of a surreal multi-level maze. Its cocktail area took over five full floors featuring live and interactive art as well as performance displays like a recreation of Degas-style dancers. The dinner guest list encompassed familiar fashion faces like André Balazs, Jason Wu, Kate and Andy Spade, Monet Mazur, and Liev Schreiber who attended the ball alone. Wife Naomi Watts meanwhile had flown abroad for another art ball last night...in Milan. Poppy de Villeneuve and Alek Wek had a reunion of sorts after discovering they both had attended the same art school in London. As the two toured the space together, Wek also expressed interest in taking a live drawing class at the academy.

Guests who stayed for the dinner--catered by Mary Giuliani--indulged in ancho chili rubbed filet of beef and mini cheesecakes, while Justin Timberlake only got to sample the truffle grilled cheese sandwiches and seared tuna appetizers. Nevertheless, the young superstar toured the entire space with artist Will Cotton. He just moved into Tribeca and thought he should get to know some of the locals. His mama would be proud.
VALENTINE UHOVSKI