This year’s Veneralia gala “A Night in Nubia,” was a tribute to the current exhibition “Lost Kingdoms of the Nile: Nubian Treasures from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,” on display at the Carlos Museum from February 9 to August 31, 2008. The event benefited The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. Chairs were Annette Joseph and Kent Alexander; Benefactor chairmen were Jack Sawyer and Dr. William Torres. Ladies and gentlemen committee chairs were Dr. and Mrs. O. Anderson Currie Jr.

Veneralia drew 300 guests, including the honorees Ben and Ann Johnson.  During dinner Carlos Museum director Bonnie Speed presented Ann and Ben Johnson with the Double Uraeus, a Nubian object that was purchased in the Johnson’s honor for the museum’s permanent collection of Nubian art.