On Tuesday night, more than 500 guests gathered at MoMA PS1 for its annual gala, honoring founding director Alanna Heiss and former MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry. With artistic direction from fashion and art collective Women’s History Museum, the evening unfolded as a Surrealist sprawl of circus-like vignettes staged at a childhood birthday party: stilt walkers roamed the museum, custom posters wrapped the walls and columns, and performers drifted through the crowd with glee.
The Scene: Guests entered through an immersive step-and-repeat layered with archival posters from PS1 exhibitions, before moving from sunset cocktails in the courtyard to a maze of upstairs galleries featuring bespoke graphics and Women’s History Museum ephemera. By the night’s end, partygoers in paper birthday hats were drifting between DJ booths, performances, and impromptu catch-ups in the institution’s vaunted halls.
The Crowd: The crowd reflected the museum’s vast cultural orbit, with guests including arts leaders Robert and Jamie Singer Soros, Michi Jigarjian, Sarah Arison, and Carla Shen; MoMA and MoMA PS1 leadership Connie Butler and Ruba Katrib; dealers Jeffrey Deitch and Thor Shannon; writers Erik Maza, Nate Freeman, and Jeppe Ugelvig; artists Camille Henrot, Miles Greenberg, and Wolfgang Tillmans; and musician Swizz Beatz.
The Entertainment: Attendees with the stamina to stay for the afterparty were treated to a variety show of buzzy talents. Experimental pianist Precious Renee Tucker opened the event with a live performance—met with raucous cheers. DJ Miss Parker then took over with a vinyl set, before DJ Fashion carried a cadence of booming bass deep into the night. Between acts, the G-Strings delivered a dance performance, styled by Women’s History Museum.
Food and Drink: Executive Chef DeVonn Francis brought his contemporary Caribbean sensibility to the gala menu with dishes including poached hake and crab rice, black curry chicken, and curried eggplant. Earlier in the evening, trays of oxtail beignets and cauliflower pavé circulated through the museum’s open-air courtyard.
Cause for FOMO: MoMA PS1’s 50th anniversary only happens once, and last night’s gala and afterparty were packed with the gravitas to match—namely triumphant speeches, a wildly-gesticulating dance troupe, hardcore DJ sets, and enough champagne to keep spirits high all night along.
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