Famous for way more than 15 minutes: WAC salutes Warhol ...

If, as Andy Warhol once memorably said, “Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes,” then the prince of pop art has long since run out the fame-o’-meter.

But Warhol’s enduring celebrity, a quarter-century after his death in 1987, is testament to his perception that the world was becoming a place where people would be famous simply for being famous. Twenty-five years later, “celebrity” is its own global culture — a world that Warhol helped to create, but perhaps even he would not recognize. Can you spell Kardashian?

In any case, the Westport Arts Center’s first Art Affair will be a Warhol-ian celebration called “The Warhol Ball – A Night at The Factory.”

The fundraising event, set for 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28, aims to re-create the atmosphere of Warhol’s legendary Manhattan studio, The Factory, at the Steel Shed, 140 Water St., Norwalk. In addition to food, music and an open bar, the event will feature live and silent auctions.

The event also will honor Westport resident Gary Cosgrave, a two-time past center president and current board member.

In the 1960s, The Factory brought together artists, writers, musicians, underground celebrities and art lovers. Warhol created iconic pop images of commercial brands and slogans (Campbell’s soup cans, among the most famous), as well as celebrities and newsmakers, produced brilliantly and bizarrely colored silkscreen  paintings, and made more than 500 films at The Factory.

Proceeds from WAC’s Warhol Ball will benefit the center’s programs.

Ticket, which go on sale March 5, cost $200, $350 and $500. The $500 VIP tickets will include a pre-event cocktail hour with food, live performance by Otis and the Hurricanes, and contemporary artist Brendan Cass painting in action.

For information or tickets, call the center at 203-222-7070 or visit warholball@westportartscenter.org.