Ed Sappin | Philanthropy & Community

Giving & Volunteering

The Rubin Museum “Sacred Spaces”

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The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room [Image courtesy of RubinMuseum.org]

Sacred Spaces, which has been on display at the Rubin Museum for almost a year, is a meditation on spirituality, physical spaces, and their intersections. The exhibition showcases three environments that have been shaped by human religiosity and acts of veneration.

In a recent interview for Splacer Magazine, Rubin Museum Director of Programs and Engagement Tim McHenry explains how the idea for ‘Sacred Spaces’ came to be. McHenry describes how, after the opening of the

“Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room in an intimate, but cramped nook on the second floor gallery, there was a realization that it was inadequate…We wanted to create an environment that allowed for a durational relationship, one that builds up through exposure over time.”

When it opened in 2010, the Rubin’s Shrine Room wasn’t supposed to be permanent (it was on loan from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian); the current iteration was supported through a crowdfunding campaign on Razoo. The exhibit explores the meaning of physical space in a couple of different ways: there is a 360-degree panoramic photograph of the Himalayan Mountains, which circumscribes the exhibit’s Shrine Room, and a video installation documenting a Jain communal ritual in which a massive stone sculpture is erected every dozen years. The video invites viewers to consider the concept of rituals–I found this aspect of the film to be particularly meaningful.

The room where Sacred Spaces is on display conveys a sense of intimacy–and also community. The two aren’t at odds with each other. Visitors are given the sense that in the personal, there is the universal. To that end, Sacred Spaces asks its visitors to consider: what spaces are sacred to you?

The Sacred Spaces exhibition is open to the public through October 17th. The beginning of autumn strikes me as a rather contemplative time of year. Make a date with yourself to catch this fascinating exhibit before it closes!

Great Philanthropic Events in New York This Summer

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There’s something to love about every season in the city, but summer is perhaps the best for events: it gets dark later, you can transition from day to night without a coat, and you’re finally free to take a vacation or two.

For the philanthropy-minded individual, summer events are an opportunity to enjoy summer days and nights in ways that also benefit important causes. If you want to enjoy yourself while contributing to a worthy organization, there are plenty of events that fit the bill.

The best way to find a philanthropic event is to subscribe to the causes and organizations you care about most and tune in to see when their fundraisers are. But for a taste of the diverse offering in New York alone, I found a few that look pretty great this summer:

Broadway in Bryant Park

Thursdays, July – August

For a sample of Broadway’s huge array of shows and talent, Broadway in Bryant Park is a recurring summer event in Midtown Manhattan right behind the New York Public Library. It’s free for guests to enjoy lunch-hour snippets from selected shows, but also benefits New York-Presbyterian for Kids and TKTS Discount Ticketing Booth.

TKTS is an affordable ticketing organization that helps sustain and share the arts and develop the audiences of the future.

Summer Camp on Fire Island

August 6, 2016

Pool parties are always a summer highlight, though for many New Yorkers they are few and far between. This annual pool party at Fire Island is presented by the Hetrick-Martin Institute, “the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit, multi-service agency dedicated to serving LGBTQ youth.”

The money raised will help ensure that youth members can return to school in September with all the supplies, clothes, and meals they need to get by.

The River Project 30th Anniversary Benefit

August 1, 2016

The River Project is a marine science field station that protects and teaches the wonders of the Hudson River ecosystem. The perfect summer event will commemorate its 30th anniversary: a river cruise and dinner party to on the Hudson River. Ticket funds will help the organization continue its important research.

Located at Pier 40 in Hudson River Park, you can also visit the River Project for interactive exhibits that show the public the wonders of the waterfront, both above and beneath.

The Refugee Crisis as Seen from New York

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Ed Sappin, refugee article

Every week if not every day there is another story in the news on our global refugee crisis. A child dies trying to make it across the Aegean Sea to Greece. The EU negotiates with Turkey to repatriate illegal refugees while supposedly taking in an equal number of legitimate refugees. The Shengen agreement effectively goes up in flames as EU countries reinstitute border controls.

Meanwhile, we sit here in New York and worry about our ongoing presidential campaign, our rent or mortgages, if Mayor De Blasio can be effective, how the Mets and Yankees are going to do this year. Syria is far away and it is very easy to dismiss our current crisis (yes our) as Europe’s problem, or the Middle East’s problem.

I find this particularly hard to stomach. We have been and remain a country of immigrants, even if we are going through a period of income inequality and social unrest. Most of us are here because our ancestors were fleeing from something terrible: wars or political, economic or religious persecution. To be sure, not all Americans are here because they were leaving something bad behind. Many came to seek fortunes or change.

I do not expect us to open up our doors to massive waves of immigrants. But we need to do more to help others in need. Donating to charities is a great place to start and participating in a volunteer mission is even better. There are great organizations at work on both fronts, like Doctors without Borders, UNICEF, Save the Children and others. My personal recommendation is the International Rescue Committee.

Founded in 1933 with the help of Albert Einstein, IRC is notable for its focus on results – the most recent review of the charitys finances showed 93% of its donations going to actual programs and services. Currently led by David Milband, the former Secretary for Foreign Affairs on the UK, IRC is very active in the Syrian Crisis. It is providing resettlement support to the small number of Syrians being allowed into the US and healthcare and providing healthcare and other services in Syria, Iraq, Greece, Lebanon, and Jordan.

So take some time as we enjoy the blossoming of spring to remember that we are very fortunate to live in our beautiful city. Help those displaced by the Syrian crisis whether you donate your time or money and pay homage to the immigrants that have sought safety and a new life in this country for generations.

Michael Dadap Performs Tonight!

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michael dadap Filipino guitarist, composer, and conductor

Michael Dadap – Filipino Guitarist, Composer, & Conductor.

If you find yourself looking for something to do tonight, Friday, November 13th, please consider a free performance by Filipino virtuoso guitarist, Michael Dadap. Event details are as follows:

November 13th,  2015
6:30pm – 8:30pm (Performance is in 2 parts: 6:30-7:15 & 7:45-8:30)

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021

*Free admission. First come, first served.

If you have had the pleasure of seeing Michael Dadap in a live setting, then you understand why I am sharing this event. Everyone should jump at the opportunity to see a musician of Dadap’s caliber play here in New York City – especially with free admission.

For those who are unfamiliar, Michael Dadap is quite the virtuoso on guitar. A few seconds into any performance and you will be mesmerized by the mastery of his craft. Dadap performs a collection of pieces, including original works and other arrangements by Filipino composers. Dadap is dedicated to his mission of promoting Filipino music and culture, and sharing an experience with his audiences.

Check out this live performance of Michael Dadap performing at the Cultural Center of the Philippines with Florante Aguilar.

For more information about tonight’s event, visit the Asia Society event page.

August Asia Society Events

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Asia Society logoSeveral Asia Society events will be hosted this August here in New York City. I highly recommend taking advantage of these great opportunities. Find more details at the Asia Society site.

August 11th, 2015
6:30pm – 8:40pm

Film: Korean Movie Night New York presents, Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island. The film will be shown at:

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue (at East 70 Street)
New York, NY

*Free admission. First-come, first-served. Line forms at 5:30 pm. Tickets are distributed at 6:00 pm. One ticket per person only.

Detective K: Secret of the Lost Island is a sequel to Detective K: Secret of the Virtuous Widow. The film is set in the 18th century and is an entertaining action-comedy that follows Detective Kim Min and his many adventures. In this sequel, Detective Min is investigating the influx of counterfeit silver threatening to destabilize the Joseon dynasty.

See the trailer below.

August 20th, 2015
6:30pm – 8:15pm

Film: People’s Park. Cinema on the Edge: the Best of the Beijing Independent Film Festival 2012-2014. Stay afterwards for a post-screening Q&A with director J.P. Sniadecki. The film will be shown at:

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY

*$8 members; $10 students/seniors; $12 nonmembers

Created by 2 young American directors, this documentary was shot in the People’s Park, Chengdu, Sichuan in one single 75 minute take. The film captures the fullness of Chinese urban leisure life, panning side to side and catching hundreds of urbanites out for fun, relaxation, socializing, and enjoying the simple things – eating, singing, practicing calligraphy, and simply living. What starts as watching transforms to dancing, as the film slowly gathers an ecstatic, trance-like groove, building to a rapturous climax, as people, movement, music, image, and sound mix together.

August 24th, 2015
6:30pm – 9:15pm

Film: The Dossier. Cinema on the Edge: the Best of the Beijing Independent Film Festival 2012-2014. Stay afterwards for a post-screening Q&A with director Zhu Rikun and Robert Barnett, Columbia University. The film will be shown at:

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY

*$8 members; $10 students/seniors; $12 nonmembers

In this documentary, Chinese filmmaker Zhu Rikun explores Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser. Woeser, now based in Beijing, has become one of the most eloquent voices on Tibet through her writing and online presence. Zhu’s sharply designed, formally innovative documentary unfolds completely in Woeser’s own voice: Zhu alternates formally photographed scenes of the writer reading excerpts from her secret government “dossier” (to which she has somehow gained access) with scenes of her speaking in her own soft but passionate voice. Woeser’s moving account of her political awakening and current activism makes for a powerful document of a Tibetan woman finding her voice and insisting on her freedom to use it.