In the Media

A who’s who of the L.A. design world turned out on Friday, May 10, for nonprofit collective Sexy Beast’s “Design for a Cause” at Future Perfect’s gallery Casa Perfect, a sprawling property in Trousdale Estates that previously belonged to Elvis Presley. https://magazinec.com/culture/party-on-kate-bosworth-and-michael-polish-celebrate-sexy-beasts-design-for-a-cause/" target="_blank"> View full article

Hollywood and the creative community united at the Marciano Art Foundation for the third biennial Sexy Beast Gala. Olivia Wilde, Jason Sudeikis, Ali Larter, and more came together for the evening, all in the name of Planned Parenthood.



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Sexy Beast for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles is the shared vision of a group of influencers in the arts, united by a mission to harness the goodwill and powerful connections of the creative community to effect positive change, touch lives, and create a meaningful social impact.

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"On October 20, the Marciano Art Foundation, already replete with a trove of supercharged contemporary art of its own, will welcome even more into its lofty marble halls. That’s when they host the 2018 edition of the biannual charity art soirée that is the aptly named Sexy Beast. Less of a benefit auction and more of an arts-based micro-festival, Sexy Beast for Planned Parenthood LA started in 2014 under the Night Gallery auspices, before the torch was passed in 2016 to Sonny Ruscha Granade and what soon became a core trio of indomitable, inspired women who use their respective skill sets and social arrays to produce a genuinely progressive vision of what giving and social responsibility can be."

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"We’re big fans of Sexy Beast and the work that they do for women’s reproductive health. So much so that we asked them to join forces with us for Girls Art Now! our first-ever women artist leadership summit back in June (#takemeback). So when we heard about their plans for the upcoming Sexy Beast Gala and art auction we were all ears, because if it’s a Sexy Beast party, you know it’s going to be good."

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"Arising out of a desire to merge art and activism within Los Angeles’ legendary creative community, Sexy Beast began as an art auction and gala and has since grown and evolved into an exciting celebration of creativity and community with a much wider scope, due to skillful spearheading by recently-appointed program directors Sonny Ruscha Granade, Kristen Stegemoeller, and Tera Uhlinger. The industrious and infectiously energetic trifecta are each an accomplished force of nature in their own fields, channeling their unique skill sets, career experiences, and network of connections into a platform that provides LA’s extensive creative community with opportunities to use their talent and influence to raise money for Planned Parenthood via product collaborations, community events, and an unforgettable biennial gala featuring the brightest lights of the creative community."

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"The more people who know about Sexy Beast the better. Last year PPLA saw 242,000 patients with only a quarter of that number living above federal poverty level. While heightening awareness about the vital services PPLA offers, Sexy Beast program directors, Sonny Ruscha Granade and Kristen Stegemoeller were able to spare a few moments to fill us in about this initiative benefitting girls, teens, women and men, regardless of their ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender identification or sexual orientation."

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We know we weren’t the only ones who held tight to the quote Meryl Streep shared (via the late Carrie Fisher) at last year’s Golden Globe Awards: “Take your broken heart, make it into art.” Said during a political climate that was (and still is, for many women) at the very least challenging and at most downright terrifying, Streep’s plea reminded us that there’s a place to channel the frustration and fear some of us have as we fight for reproductive rights and against discrimination.

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"Since the start of The Doyennes, we’ve been fascinated by cool collaborations and people who put their skills to work in surprising ways, often to make positive change. The women behind Sexy Beast for Planned Parenthood LA do exactly that: by combining their talents and their experience from different fields within the creative industries, they have merged their passion for the arts with a desire to support an organization that’s vital to women’s health. Since the founding in 2014, Sexy Beast has raised over one million dollars for Planned Parenthood LA. We’re impressed, and met up with the three directors to hear more about their work: Sonny Ruscha Granade, a former gallery director, now a private art dealer; Kristen Stegemoeller, a writer with heavy names like Paper Magazine on her resume and now creative director at Karen Kimmel Studio in LA; and Tera Uhlinger, who with a background from brand marketing and the music industry now works with Sexy Beast full-time."

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"[Sonny Ruscha] Granade believes art can still change the world, playing a vital role in these divided, cynical times. “Art is such a powerful communication tool. It can shine light on important issues,” says Granade, for whom Sexy Beast has provided a kind of emotional, cause-driven fulfillment she’d never before experienced."

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“So many of these artists and designers we’re working with [are] very liberal and politically engaged personally, but there are limited outlets to use their talent and skills to directly benefit causes they personally care about,” said Stegemoeller. “We’re trying to thread the needle for them.”

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Jenny Holzer: Her truisms became a calling card for the #metoo movement...Various photographs and text works by the artist inscribed with the phrase “Abuse of power comes as no surprise” became the visual identity and a rallying cry for the #notsurprised petition.

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Graphic t-shirts have such an importance and resonance now—it's like wearable art, art that communicates a message in a format that people can understand.

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Since Trump’s election, Planned Parenthood has been at risk of losing important funding, but it seems to have found itself an ally in fashion... Off-White’s Virgil Abloh and artist Jenny Holzer have pooled their talents to support the non-profit organization.

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Having worked together for Off-White’s spring/summer 18 Pitti protest spectacular in Florence earlier this year, the artist and designer are joining forces again to raise money for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles.

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"Holzer and the Off-White founder paired up to create a limited edition collection of t-shirts that feature Planned Parenthood's mission statement on the back and one of Holzer's most iconic "truisms" on the front: "Abuse of Power Comes As No Surprise." (Two other designs have a twist on that: "Abuse of Flower Comes As No Surprise.")"



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