NEW YORK.- Cherrie Nanninga, Chair of the Board, and Maggie Boepple, President of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC), have announced the honorees for the fifth annual Downtown Dinner gala, to be held Monday, April 20, 2009 at 6:30PM at 7 World Trade Center on the 45th floor.

LMCC’s Real Estate Partners will be honored for their generosity to our Artist Residency programs, for lending temporarily empty space all over Downtown. This space is then transformed by LMCC into free studios for visual artists, writers, dancers, actors, and musicians. Having access to these free studios is often the difference between an artist staying in New York or moving out.

These generous firms believe, as we do, that New York’s artists are integral to a thriving City and even in these challenging times, they do something about it. An example of this is the 22,000 square-feet sub-basement of 14 Wall Street, donated by Capstone Equities. LMCC has created five studios, two with sprung floors for dancers, enabling over 350 artists to rehearse there in the last few months. The Partners all have given space for several months or more.

Academy-Award Winning Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman will be joining us as a special guest. Patrice Walker Powell, Acting Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, will also be present and will give remarks on the NEA's relationship to local arts organizations such as LMCC.

The Liberty, LMCC’s prestigious President’s Award, will be presented by Maggie Boepple to visual artist Shin il Kim and luciana achugar, choreographer.

More than 600 philanthropists, business, civic, arts, and cultural leaders are expected to attend The Downtown Dinner, recognized as one of the most anticipated social and off-beat events of the season. With spectacular views, and installations by LMCC resident artist Hanna Sandin and a performance by the acclaimed choreographer and 2008-2009 Workspace resident Rashaad Newsome, the dinner will continue to provide the unexpected.

The popular Secret Sale of unique artworks, created specifically for The Downtown Dinner by upwards of 200 contemporary artists, is back. The sale will feature works by recognized artists including Marilyn Minter and Lawrence Weiner, as well as LMCC artist alumni. Signed on the back, the identity of each artist remains unknown until after the work has been purchased. The works are priced at $250 apiece.

Individual tickets to the event range from $1,000 to $2,500. Tables begin at $10,000. For ticket sales or further information, please contact Maureen McMahon at 212-219-9401, ext. 101, mmcmahon@lmcc.net.

For more information visit www.lmcc.net/downtowndinner.