NEW YORK, NY.- Honoree Laurie Simmons was celebrated for her contributions to visual culture by the 350-person crowd including: Molly Ringwald (actress/singer/writer) and her husband, Panio Gianopoulus; Simmons’ husband, Tip Dunham and her daughter, Lena Dunham (actor/writer); Candice Bergen (actress); Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney; Zoe Buckman (artist); Richard Armstrong (director, Guggenheim Museum); Claudia Gould (director, Jewish Museum); Stefano Tonchi (editor, W Magazine); Debbie Wilpon (philanthropist); Elizabeth Mayhew (lifestyle expert); Stephanie Ingrassia (art patron); Martin Bell (filmmaker and husband of late photographer Mary Ellen Mark); Stacey Griffith (celebrity trainer); ICP Trustees Pat Schoenfeld, Caryl Englander, Bicky Kellner, Renee Harbers Liddell, Marjorie Rosen, Heather Vrattos, along with ICP Spotlights Committee Co-Chairs Peggy Anderson and Debby Hymowitz, as well as ICP Executive Director Mark Lubell.

Spotlights Co-Chairs Anderson and Hymowitz (both accomplished photographers in their own right) kicked off the festivities, thanking everyone for joining and talking about the grassroots origins of the event, before turning the mic over to Lubell, who welcomed actress/singer/author Ringwald to the stage for a one-on-one interview with Simmons about her career and accomplishments. The event culminated with commentary by Bergen in honor of Mary Ellen Mark, who was a longtime ICP faculty member, as a follow up to the launch of an ICP scholarship in her name earlier this year.

The ICP Spotlights raised $300,000, including from a silent auction of over 30 photographs and three unique experiences; those funds will benefit ICP programs including its education and exhibitions. In addition, The Mary Ellen Mark Scholarship Fund raised $52,000 on site at the event, thanks to Candice Bergen who kicked off the effort with a $10,000 donation of her own.

Launched in 2011, the annual ICP Spotlights celebrates the significant contributions of women in photography and film. Past honorees include Lauren Greenfield, Carrie Mae Weems, Mary Ellen Mark, Shirin Neshat, and Stephanie Sinclair.