The 2nd Los Angeles Beverly Arts (LABA) Icon Charity Awards Held at the Four Seasons Hotel

Paul Ottosson, Yue-Sai Kan, Joey Zhou, and Princess Karen Cantrell

Los Angeles, California, USA. 17th March, 2022. The Los Angeles Beverly Arts (LABA) and the LABA International Art Festival are proud to announce that the second LABA Icon Awards took place on March 17, 2022, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The second LABA Icon Awards ceremony was hosted by Princess Karen Cantrell, the rotating Chairman of the LABA International Art Festival and Joey Zhou, founding Chairman of the LABA International Art Festival. Both presenters welcomed last year's winners: Princess Karen Cantrell, Jiannan Huang, James Daichendt, Richard Wearn, Remy Aron, Laura Angelini, Paul Ottosson, Karen Han, Debby Jou, Joe Davidson, Todd Williamson, Xinyong Wang , and Marisa Cauchiolo.

Janet Zipper of JZTVLive Interviews at the 2nd LABA Icon Charity Awards

The event was sponsored by the LABA International Art Festival Organizing Committee and the LABA International Art Festival Icon Award Committee, and jointly organized by the Royal Society of St. George California Branch (RSSG) and the United Nations Association Inland Empire Branch (UNA-USA). Additional organizers included The Beverly Arts/Beverly News, JH International Art Institute, and US Art Bank. In addition to inviting the first LABA Icon Award winners to participate in the ceremony, the following guests were also invited to participate in the awards: United Nations Association California President Barry Simon, and Beyond Magazine CEO Dr. Aura Imbarus.

TV Host Joey Zhou

Mr. Zhou introduced the LABA Icon Awards: “It is a trend-setting public welfare award established by people from all walks of life. The intent is to promote social public welfare undertakings of art through the interaction of art business and commercial art," said Zhou. Attendees included artists from all over the world and celebrities in art business circles.

Princess Karen Cantrell

This year's Awards was highly diversified, and winners included: Ms. Yue-Sai Kan, a well-known international female businesswomen and philanthropist and celebrity artist as well as Stephanie Spruill, Dave Tourje, Wenkang Xue, Lisa Schulte, Zehra Sun of MDSUN, Bobby Ruiz, Oceana Rain Stuart, Law office of Lisa Smith, Petra Eiko, Building Bridge Art Exchange, Chinese American Culture Exchange Association, and other industry elite institutions and individuals. Yue-Sai Kan received the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by three-time Oscar winner Paul Ottosson.

This year’s award ceremony was also supported by the Chinese American Culture Exchange Association, MDSUN, Law Office of Lisa Smith, the representative of well-known emerging designer Wenkang Xue, and the winner of the last Icon Award, Chair Committee Member Jiannan Huang.

Some of the Award Winners: Yue-Sai Kan, Stephanie Spruill, Lisa Schulte, Bobby Ruiz, Oceana Rain Stuart

Zehra Sun and Todd Williamson

Barry Simon and Lisa Smith of Law Office of Lisa Smith

Dr. G. James Daichendt and Brenda Yang of Chinese American Culture Exchange Association (CACEA)

Entertainment included local performance artist Bei Bei Monter with Guzheng, who presented a Hollywood- style Chinese-Western production; the Yudian Art Center presented classical dance "Time and Tide of the Red," and four-time Grammy winner Stephanie Spruill performed a film theme song she wrote and composed entitled “I Will Be There for You.”

Musician Bei Bei Monter

Dancers Dian Yu and Jinghua Liu

The winner of the first LABA Icon award and member of the second jury presidium, Chinese artist Jiannan Huang was given a Master of Art award by the Royal Society of St. George. Mr. Jiannan Huang recently held the "Green Olympics" art exhibition at the Beijing Olympic Tower on March 11, 2022. He exhibited 30 of his works related to the Olympic theme. As a result, Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, wrote a congratulatory letter to Huang about the successful exhibition. As the only member of the Asian Organizing Committee of the LABA Icon Awards, Mr. Huang also participated in selecting the LABA Icon Awards' winners.

Princess Karen Cantrell with LABA Blue-chip artist Jiannan Huang by video conference from Beijing, China.

Jiannan Huang is one of the world's finest artists, specializing in Chinese ink and oil painting. He is ranked third on the 2020 Hurun China Art List and 19th on the Hurun Global List with art sales of $29 million. Huang ranked second on Artron.Net's 2020 Art Auction Market Ranking. Artron.Net is the world’s leading Chinese art website and China’s largest art service platform. In less than a year, interest from North American collectors has increased significantly. Recently two of Huang's paintings were appraised at over one million US dollars; "Inexhaustible" valued at $1,450,000 and "The Flower of Youth" valued at $1,150,000. The appraisals were obtained from renowned art consultant Sara Mokhtari and her appraisal agency in Beverly Hills, California in 2021.

LABA Blue-chip artist Jiannan Huang with Master of Arts Award 2022

Huang holds several positions, Director of the Chinese Traditional Culture Promotion Association, Overseas Art Adviser for the "Olympic Cheers" organizing committee for the Beijing Olympics, member of the French National Artists Committee, art consultant for the World Low Carbon Cities Alliance, and France's Jiny City Gold Medal Honorary Citizen. He was awarded the title of "Earl" by the Indonesian Royal Family, and the "Royal Sacred Knight of Constantine" from Italy. In 2020, Huang was invited by the LABA International Art Festival Organizing Committee to participate in the LABA International Art Festival as a Blue-chip artist. Last year, he was awarded an honorary membership into the Royal Society of St. George, California.

Also serving as members of the organizing committee and presenters of this evening are Dr. G. James Daichendt, President of the Point Loma Nazarene University of Southern California and world-class art Critic; Rémy Aron, President of French Artists Association; Barry Simon, President of the California Branch of the United Nations Association; Todd Williamson, President of the West Hollywood Arts Council; and three-time Academy Award-winning director Paul NJ Ottosson.

Dr. G. James Daichendt

About LABA and the LABA International Art Festival

The Los Angeles Beverly Arts (LABA), the LABA International Art Festival, and the Beverly Arts Online Exhibition feature artists from all over the world who have come together to display their work in a virtual gallery exhibition. Visitors can visit the exhibit at any time and enjoy the artwork of some of the world's most talented and unique artists who have been chosen to participate in this event.