The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures raised $10 million to support the museum’s access, education, and programming initiatives during its second annual fundraising gala, organizers said.
During the Saturday evening event, Oscar winner Julia Roberts was among the honorees, receiving the museum’s Icon Award for a career spanning three decades that has “had a significant global cultural impact.” The award was presented by George Clooner, her longtime friend and co-star in the newly released film “Ticket to Paradise.”
“Over the course of her expansive and renowned career, Julia has embodied iconic characters and memorable roles,” Jacqueline Stewart, director and president of the Academy Museum, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be honoring her continued excellence in the industry and contribution to the arts.”
Other honorees were Oscar-winning actor Tilda Swinton, who received the Visionary Award, which recognizes an artist “whose extensive oeuvre has advanced the art of cinema.” The award was presented by her longtime friend and collaborator Luca Guadagnino.
Miky Lee, executive producer of the 2019 Best Picture winner “Parasite” received the Pillar Award in honor of her leadership and support for the Academy Museum and director Steve McQueen, the 2013 Oscar-winning producer of Best Picture winner “12 Years a Slave” was presented with a Vantage Award recognizing his work to “contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema.
The ceremony was co-chaired by Academy Award-winning actor and Academy Museum supporter Halle Berry, Academy Museum Trustee and producer Jason Blum, Academy Museum Trustee and screenwriter-director-producer Ryan Murphy, and Academy Award-winning actor Lupita Nyong’o.
The inaugural gala in 2021 raised more than $11 million. The Academy Museum’s mission is to advance understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema and to expand knowledge and conversation about cinema as a global art form and cultural force, according to museum officials.
The long planned museum opened on Sept. 30, 2021 in the old May Co. building on Wilshire Boulevard.