Vanity Fair and BMW Present the Art of Elysium “Pieces of Heaven” Art Auction in Partnership with Christie’s

Hosted by Amy Smart and Scott Caan, Among Others.

Los Angeles, CA/ Woodcliff Lake, NJ – On March 4, 2010, Vanity Fair and BMW will partner with The Art of Elysium to host The Art of Elysium “Pieces of Heaven” Art Auction, in partnership with Christie’s, at the Palihouse Holloway in Los Angeles. The event will be hosted by Amy Smart and Scott Caan, along with Cameron Silver and Jeff Snyder, Laura Villaseñor and Andrew Wilding, Ali Larter and Hayes MacArthur, and Topher Grace.

Elijah Wood will act as DJ while celebrities, art patrons and LA influentials have a chance to preview more than 50 works of art donated by artists, dealers and private collectors.  The unique artwork will be available for purchase during a live and silent auction to benefit The Art of Elysium, a non-profit organization which encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling medical conditions.  The live auction is being conducted in partnership with Christie’s and will be done by Auctioneer Andrea Fiuczynski, President, Christie’s Los Angeles.

The event is a continuation of the Annual “Heaven” Gala which takes place the evening before the Golden Globe awards, where the donated works of art are revealed in a limited-edition coffee table book featuring images of the artworks.

BMW’s longstanding commitment to the arts and their “Joy” campaign makes them a perfect fit for The Art of Elysium. BMW will provide guests with the opportunity to help further support The Art of Elyium by distributing “Share the Joy” cards to each person in attendance.  The cards will invite guests to test-drive any BMW model at their local BMW center, and as a special thank you, BMW of North America will make a donation in the guest’s name to The Art of Elysium.  Additionally, BMW will provide VIP transportation with a fuel efficient fleet of BMW ActiveHybrid 7 and BMW ActiveHybrid X6 vehicles to notables and will host a special BMW 7 Series car display outside of the venue. 

BMW furthered their commitment to The Art of Elysium on February 16, when BMW Group DesignworksUSA—a global design consultancy and subsidiary of BMW Group—partnered with The Art of Elysium for an interactive workshop at the Shriners Hospitals for Children, where children got a firsthand glimpse at the magic that goes into designing a BMW.

The Art of Elysium “Pieces of Heaven” Art Auction is part of Vanity Fair’s Campaign Hollywood, the magazine’s annual week-long series of events and one-of-a-kind “moments” leading up to the Academy Awards in support of charitable causes.

About Vanity Fair

From world affairs to entertainment, business to style, design to society, Vanity Fair is a cultural catalyst—a magazine that provokes and drives the popular dialogue. With its unique mix of stunning photography, in-depth reportage, and social commentary, Vanity Fair accelerates ideas and images to center stage.

About The Art of Elysium

The Art of Elysium is a non-profit 501c (3) organization founded in 1997, encourages working actors, artists and musicians to voluntarily dedicate their time and talent to children who are battling serous medical conditions. They provide artistic workshops in the following disciplines: acting, art, comedy, fashion, music radio, songwriting and creative writing. For more information please go to www.theartofelysium.org.

BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country.  BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes.  The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 91 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

The BMW Group

The BMW Group is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands.  As a global company, the BMW Group operates 24 production facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

The BMW Group achieved a global sales volume of more than 1.43 million automobiles and over 101,000 motorcycles for the 2008 financial year.  Revenues for 2008 totaled EUR 53.2 billion, with earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 921 million.  The company employed a global workforce of approximately 98,000 associates as of September 30, 2009.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action.  The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.  As a result of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last five years.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:  www.bmwgroupna.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwna.com.  Additional information, images and video may be found at www.bmwusanews.com.  Broadcast quality video footage is available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.

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