AIGA Centennial Gala in NYC

The WilloBees traveled to New York City on April 25 for the AIGA Centennial Gala where Ann was presented the design profession’s highest honor, the AIGA Medal. Family, lifelong friends and design colleagues joined Ann as we spent the weekend celebrating her lifetime achievement in design.

On Friday night, AIGA hosted a sold-out Centennial Gala at the Grand Hyatt New York and honored a special class of 24 Medalists. Michael Bierut of Pentagram served as the emcee and announced that the gala was the largest in AIGA’s history. Hundreds of guests took part in the evening, watched videos about each Medalist and posed at the photo booth. Ann was joined by her mentor and 1972 Medalist, Milton Glaser.

Ann’s best friend, Leslie Westbrook, hosted an intimate cocktail reception on Saturday night at the newly reopened Tavern on the Green in Central Park. Ann was able to spend more time visiting with family and dear friends, and we were all given a chance to share our own Ann stories from years past. As the inaugural party for the Tavern’s new management, the entire group was invited to stay for dinner following the reception.

We also spent the weekend exploring the city, eating delicious food and seeing the sights. We stopped by the national AIGAoffice, MoMA, the High Line, Eataly, the Flatiron Building and the National September 11 Memorial, to name a few.

Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Ann and this proud milestone for Willoughby Design!