Enriching poor kids with arts

Sure, there was too much lag time between dinner and the awards ceremony. And maybe the puppies on the auction block got more attention than the honorees. But the annual Imagine Awards benefit for Inner-City Arts had its heart in the right place, honoring co-founder Bob Bates and raising $350,000 for its arts school for impoverished kids.

“They say that time is infinite -- and so is the duration of this event,” quipped “Friends” co-star Lisa Kudrow, winner with Bates and philanthropist Wallis Annenberg of Imagine Awards at the Nov. 21 event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Humbly, Kudrow kept the spotlight on Bates when she was recognized for her long support of the free South-Central school founded in 1989. “Bob Bates is what Inner-City Arts is all about. I love the story of how, when he was meditating, he heard a voice telling him to ‘create an art space.’ He kept saying, ‘No, I can’t!’ ” Kudrow said. “And when he finally did, everything fell into place. Learning to open up to things that don’t seem possible is what art is all about. That’s why I’m a big fan of Inner-City Arts.”

Serving 8,000 students each year, the school broke ground last month on an addition that will “more than double its size,” said executive director Cynthia Harnisch. Besides honoring its supporters, the celebration of the opportunity to give more children a chance to explore dance, drama, music and animation is what the gala was all about, she said. “We serve the downtown children, the children in extreme poverty who have all the bright promise of all children -- absolutely gifted, absolutely capable.”