CARTA to host fundraising event March 25

The first annual Arts, Design and Culture Awards and Benefit in Coral Gables will raise funds for “all seven departments of art, design and performance at FIU,” said College of Architecture + The Arts Interim Dean Brian Schriner. The evening will honor longtime FIU supporter Ambassador Paul L. Cejas.

The College of Architecture + The Arts (CARTA) will present the first annual Arts, Design and Culture Awards and Benefit on Thursday, March 25, at 6 p.m., at the Westin Colonnade in Coral Gables. The event will feature a live auction of items including travel packages planned especially for art and culture enthusiasts to popular locations around the world and music lessons by some of the university’s most renowned faculty members.

Tables and seats can be purchased through four different sponsorship opportunities. Click here for details on these sponsorship packages. Comedian Bruce Smirnoff, a member of the Footlighters Club (an organization that has lent support to CARTA since its inception), will emcee the event.

Arts, Design and Culture Awards and Benefit guests will enjoy cocktails, a sit-down dinner, a performance by the FIU Amernet String Quartet and the auction benefiting student scholarships and academic programs at FIU. An award ceremony will be held to honor longtime FIU supporter Ambassador Paul L. Cejas for his generous commitment and contributions to CARTA.

Cejas served as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium from 1998-2001. Upon his return to the United States, he resumed responsibilities as chairman and CEO of PLC Investments, Inc., a wholly owned company that manages family investments in real estate, equities and venture capital projects. Cejas has been a business and civic leader in the South Florida community for more than 30 years. He has maintained an extensive involvement in the area of community and public service. The FIU School of Architecture building is named in his honor.

“I am very excited to host the first annual College of Architecture + The Arts fundraising event that will support not just one, but all seven departments of art, design and performance at FIU,” said Brian Schriner, CARTA’s interim dean. “Although our college is young, we are quickly gaining a reputation for artistic and academic excellence at FIU and in South Florida.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 305-348-0496 or e-mail carta@fiu.edu.