The LA-based Tornado Design Studio, whose motto is 'Making Culture Pop,' is behind the upcoming group exhibition and benefit sale, Enlighten! Featuring limited-edition lamp shades designed by over 85 established artists, the sale benefits Inner-City Arts, an organization that offers arts education programs for at-risk children from Los Angeles' public schools. The art is printed on polypropelene shades, which are mounted on acrylic, brushed nickel or clear crystal bases.

"The idea for Enlighten! came out of a meeting with our friend Daniel from Lamp-In-A-Box, who is fabricating the lamps for us," says Tornado's creative director Al Quattrocchi. "The light literally went off in my head," he continued. "What a great way to showcase talented artists through this new, functional lampshade palette! Bringing usable art to the mass public that is affordable, functional and beautiful."

A selection of artist's lamps from Enlighten!, left to right: Lili Lakich, James Yang, Joe Vaux, Gant Powell, Chris Buzelli, and Fernanda Cohen.

Enlighten!'s impressive list of artists includes Melinda Beck, Calef Brown, Chris Buzelli, Ann Field, Sarajo Frieden, John Hendrix, Saelee Oh, Martha Rich, and Noah Woods among others - and, for the sake of full disclosure, myself.

The exhibition is a one-night-only event this Saturday. So, if you're in LA for the weekend, getting your place ready to add a touch of art to it, or just looking for a fun evening with some live music by The Icy Hot Duo.

When and Where: Saturday, November 21, from 5:00-11:00 pm. Helms Bakery Building, 8723 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA. Tornado Design: 310.202.1020.

What: Limited edition lamps by over 85 artists - limited to 3 lamps per artist, and priced at $200 each. Lamps can also be pre-ordered at www.enlightenshow.com until November 20, 2009. Credit cards are welcome. [note - transposed order here for emphasis]

New York-based artist and illustrator Fernanda Cohen is a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts, Vice President of ICON6, lecture coordinator at the Society of Illustrators of New York and advisor to 3x3 Magazine. She recently deigned a line of T-shirts for the Gap (RED) campaign, and is currently creating a series of murals for a mega-restaurant/disco in New York.

112009 enlighten