A Field of Light
Art, Hope, and the 2025 Wang YMCA Legacy Gala
In 2025, the Wang YMCA Legacy Gala became part of a beautiful first for The Mabazza Foundation: the debut of its first collaborative digitally designed, hand-painted oil artwork created for fundraising and community impact.
Designed by Uchenna Obinabo-Mabazza, the painting was inspired by the emotional spirit of Van Gogh’s golden wheat fields, but reimagined through Uchenna’s own story of survival, hope, and forward motion.
It was created as a reminder that even after hardship, there can still be a sunlit path ahead.
A Night of Legacy, Community, and Generosity
Guests at the 2025 Wang YMCA Legacy Gala gathered in celebration of community, service, and shared support.
The Wang YMCA Legacy Gala brings people together to celebrate the power of community and raise essential funds for the programs that help keep the YMCA open, welcoming, and accessible to all.
At the gala, this artwork became more than a painting on display. It became a symbol of what the YMCA makes possible: healing, belonging, resilience, and new beginnings.
The sale of the artwork helped raise much-needed funds for YMCA programs and operations, supporting the services that help children, families, seniors, cancer survivors, people living with chronic illness, newcomers, and community members of all backgrounds find a place to grow stronger together.
The Painting: A Golden Path Through Hardship
Uchenna Obinabo-Mabazza’s collaborative digitally designed and hand-painted oil artwork, inspired by golden wheat fields and the promise of light after hardship.
The painting glows with deep blues, swirling golds, and a radiant sun pulling the eye forward. Its textured field seems to move with memory and courage. The sky feels alive, almost musical, filled with motion, turbulence, and possibility.
For Uchenna, the image carries a deeply personal message:
Hardship may bend the field, but it does not erase the horizon.
There is still light ahead.
There is still something to look forward to.
The golden wheat becomes a symbol of endurance. The small tree stands like a survivor in the landscape. The sun becomes a quiet promise: no matter how dark the season has been, the path forward can still glow.
This artwork reflects the heart of The Mabazza Foundation’s mission: using art to create moments of emotional connection, hope, and healing while also supporting community organizations that care for people in real and lasting ways.
Two Artworks, Two New Homes, One Shared Message
The painting was not only purchased at the gala, but it also sparked another meaningful act of generosity. The purchaser, Susan, brought a friend who was moved to purchase a second artwork: a print of a lighthouse standing through a storm, its light still shining.
Together, the two pieces carried a beautiful conversation.
One spoke of a golden field after hardship.
The other spoke of a lighthouse guiding the way through rough seas.
Both artworks offered the same message in different voices:
There is a way forward.
There is light in the distance.
There is hope strong enough to travel through the storm.
The painting and the lighthouse print have now found wonderful homes, where their message can continue to live beyond the gala.
Supporting the Wang YMCA’s Mission
The Wang YMCA of Chinatown continues to serve as a welcoming place for wellness, belonging, and community care.
The sale of these artworks helped raise much-needed money for the Wang YMCA’s programs and operations. These funds support the YMCA’s ongoing work to provide healthy activities, community programs, youth development, senior support, cancer survivorship resources, and access for people who may otherwise face financial barriers.
For The Mabazza Foundation, this is exactly what art can do.
Art can brighten a room.
Art can tell a story.
Art can help someone feel less alone.
And sometimes, art can help raise the funds that keep vital community programs alive.
A Legacy Painted in Light
The 2025 Wang YMCA Legacy Gala reminded us that generosity often begins with a single moment: a person seeing something, feeling something, and choosing to help.
This painting began as a vision of light after hardship. Through the gala, it became part of a larger story of care, giving, and community.
A field of wheat.
A lighthouse in a storm.
A YMCA rooted in service.
A community choosing hope.
Together, they remind us that legacy is not only what we leave behind. Legacy is also what we help make possible for others.
And on this night, through art and generosity, the path forward became a little brighter.