On Thursday, April 30, 2009, All for Africa held its first fundraiser of the year at Cipriani’s private club in downtown Manhattan. The event was a combination of high-end fashion and art. The venue was perfect. It was a small intimate setting that was great for showcasing both the artwork and fashion pieces.

The event was well attended, and many new faces showed up to support All For Africa’s cause. High end fashion pieces such as dresses and jewelry generously provided by African and American designers were displayed and auctioned at the event. nAscent art, a company that represents emerging artists, provided a beautiful display art exhibit showcasing fantastic art works with an African focus. We are very excited about the painting, Niger, by Ntel Tahou that sold at auction. More beautiful art work by artists such as John Breiner, Peter Dressel, Gregory Kirschenbaum, Ezra Mabengeza and many more are still available for purchase for the benefit of All For Africa – please watch out for these pieces on both the All for Africa and nAscent Art websites.  All For Africa was able to display and sell its new line of merchandise, which included items such as pendants, tote bags, and key rings that were designed to match the All For Africa logo and hand-crafted in South Africa. Guests also had the opportunity to purchase oil palm trusts, and received a certificate of authenticity to acknowledge their contribution.

The event was a lot of fun and a big success, and it would not have been a success without the generous support of BarterHouse, who generously sponsored the event and Cipriani’s, that provided the wonderful venue and food for the event.

To continue your support and to help us plant trees please BUY A TREE!

We would also like to thank Arthur and Brian Adelman of Flip Dresses, who provided beautiful dresses for the event, and Yana Fleming of African Fashion Index. African Fashion Index provided the African designers for the event and is also responsible for the All For Africa Fair trade Market place www.allforafrica.org/shop/. Please check it out. African designers, whose items were featured at the event, included: Chloe Townsend and Des Richards of Missibaba studio, South Africa, Bong Gray of Bongiz in South Africa, Nkwo Onwuka of the Nkwo fashion label of Nigeria and the United Kingdom, Khutala Mayosi of Khuts Exclusive Designs, South Africa, who also designed the beautiful Messenger tote available at the All For Africa Fair trade Market place, and Tapiwa Matsinde of the Nakai label of Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. We also appreciate the generous support of Roxana Pintili of Warren Tricoma Hair care, Angela DeInnocentiis for makeup and Steve Leff, who was the Fashion Coordinator for the event.

A special thanks goes out to our great staff, Busie Matsiko, Paula Naggaga, Juliano Innocenti and all of the volunteers who support all for Africa.