Theatre trailblazers Jesse Eisenberg, Daveed Diggs, and Sarah Jones celebrated the annual Urban Arts Partnership Gala April 8 in support of arts education for public school students.
The Ziegfeld Ballroom event in New York City honored the hip-hop pioneer Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and featured freestyle performances and an original song by Hamilton Tony– and Grammy Award-winning actor and rapper Daveed Diggs, with inspirational stories of classroom engagement with journalist, speaker and activist Noor Tagouri, and actor-playwright Jesse Eisenberg.
Artistic Ambassadors, including Gbenga Akinnagbe (To Kill a Mockingbird), Damaris, Sarah Jones, Diane Neal, Maulik Pancholy, Karina Ortiz, and Michael Zegen (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Bad Jews) came out to support the students they've worked with and to champion a cause close to their hearts. The event celebrated NYC public school students and raised over $600,000 for the organization, whose mission is to advance the intellectual, social, and artistic development of public school students to close achievement gaps.
On his advocacy work supporting Urban Arts Partnership and arts-education, Jesse Eisenberg commented, "It is so rewarding to work with an organization that connects youth with creative tools and outlets to help lift up their voices."
Urban Arts Partnership works with 50 public schools across New York and Los Angeles, impacting the lives of more than 10,000 students each year and over 250,000 students and 3,000 teachers in the last 27 years. UAP strives to provide every student equal access and opportunity to education and the arts, including programs designed to support immigrants, the LGBTQ community, those with special needs, and at-risk students.
Take a look at highlights from the fundraising event below:
