Thank you for supporting BOLD VISIONS

We’re thrilled to share the incredible success of BOLD VISIONS: ChiArts’ 15th Anniversary Benefit. On May 1, 2025, our community came together to raise $500,000, ensuring that accessible, high-quality arts education remains within reach for Chicago’s next generation of artists.

Our deepest thanks to our dedicated co-chairs, Chardai Johnson and Arnett Faulkner, whose leadership and passion helped make the evening unforgettable. We’re also grateful to Val Warner of ABC7 Chicago for serving as our incredible guest host, and to Gary Metzner, Vice Chair of the ChiArts Foundation, for co-hosting a powerful and inspiring Paddle Raise.

Special thanks to the Caerus Foundation for launching a $250,000 matching gift challenge in honor of ChiArts’ 15th anniversary, a bold investment in the future of arts education in our city.

 As ChiArts prepares to transition to a district-managed Fine & Performing Arts High School on July 1, 2026, our focus is clear: ensuring that current students — especially the Class of 2026 — experience the full strength, excellence, and opportunity that define a ChiArts education. 

In lieu of hosting our annual benefit, the ChiArts Foundation has made the intentional decision to direct every possible dollar toward mission-critical conservatory programming for the remainder of the 2025-26 school year. We invite you to become a Scholar-Artist Legacy Sponsor or make a gift at a level that is meaningful to you, helping make possible every conservatory course, performance, exhibition, and graduation milestone this spring. 

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2025 BOLD VISIONS SPONSORS

PRESENTING
The Jim & Kay Mabie Family

Elissa Hamid Efroymson & Adnaan Hamid
Carol Prins & John Hart
J. Thomas Hurvis & Ann Andersen

PRODUCER

Mirja Spooner Haffner
Mary Jo Basler
The Collens Family
Marilynn & Ronald Grais
Gary Metzner & Scott Johnson
Sylvia Neil & Dan Fischel
Amisha Rigia & Adam Caplan

STAR
AKIRA
Duffie A. Adelson
Peter & Katharine Darrow
Arnett & Greg Faulkner
Two Fish Foods
Peter Fidler & Kate Grossman
Christine & Greg Gallagher
Bill & Anne Goldstein
Sandra & Jack Guthman
The McKeever Family
Lisa Simmons & John Street
tgin (Thank God It’s Natural)

PATRON
The Robert Thomas Bobins Foundation
Lori Efroymson Aguilera & Sergio Aguilera
Susan Feibus & Tom Geoghegan
Helyn Goldenberg & Michael Alper
Hyde Park Hospitality
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
Sabrina A. King
Pam & John McCambridge
Denis & Martha Pierce
Wintrust Community Banks