Inside the YoungArts New York Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Artist José Parlá, curator Sharon Coplan Hurowitz, artist KAWS and art advisor BJ Topol. Deonté Lee/BFA.com

This past Monday, a mix of cultural and philanthropic luminaries gathered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to raise funds for YoungArts at the foundation’s annual gala. Emceed by Grammy- and Tony-nominated performer and 1985 YoungArts grantee Michael McElroy, the evening—executed by Met Gala designer Raùl Àvila—brought New York’s most engaged cultural and community leaders, artists, philanthropists, celebrities and art aficionados to the museum’s iconic Temple of Dendur for a seated dinner that raised nearly $1 million for the organization.

This year’s hosts included honorary chair Agnes Gund and gala co-chairs Sarah Arison and Thomas Willhelm, Gillian Hearst, Emily and Mitch Rales, Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, and Sandra and Tony Tamer.

Many of the city’s most prominent arts philanthropists—Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz, Jamie and Robert Soros and Katherine Farley and Jerry Speyer among them—made an appearance at the 2024 gala, rubbing elbows with museum leaders including MoMA PS1’s Connie Butler, the Met’s Max Hollein, MoMA’s Glenn Lowry, the Brooklyn Museum’s Anne Pasternak, the Whitney’s Scott Rothkopf and the Pérez Art Museum’s Franklin Sirmans.

And as one might expect, the list of artists in attendance was lengthy: painter Mickalene Thomas; dancer, choreographer and actor Mikhail Baryshnikov; artist and curator Derrick Adams; American Ballet Theater principal dancer Misty Copeland; painter Carroll Dunham; visual artist Jonah Freeman; choreographer and director Bill T. Jones; artists KAWS and Julia Chiang; painter José Parlá; conceptual artist Adam Pendleton; artist and photographer Laurie Simmons; playwright Anna Deavere Smith; and sculptor and painter Kennedy Yanko.

Throughout the dinner service, guests enjoyed performances by YoungArts award winners—who are indeed an accomplished bunch. Notable among the evening’s talent were choreographer and dancer Amanda Krische and musician, composer and multidisciplinary artist Samora Pinderhughes. There’s no questioning the impact YoungArts has had on arts and culture. Past participants in the organization’s programming include Timothée Chalamet, Vanessa Williams and Viola Davis.