YoungArts Gala Raises Over $1.2M at the Met with Star-Studded Lineup

Desmond Richardson, Pamela Tatge and Bill T. Jones Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com

It’s a sure sign spring has sprung when cultural, creative and philanthropic luminaries from New York and beyond descend upon the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Temple of Dendur to raise funds for the annual YoungArts gala. This year’s emcee was actress Katerina McCrimmon, widely lauded for her turn as Fanny Brice in the national tour of Funny Girl (Entertainment Weekly called her “the next greatest star”), and the evening was flawlessly executed once again by Raúl Àvila, the designer behind both the Met Gala and the Academy Awards. For this edition, Àvila drew inspiration from photographer Jordan Tiberio’s atmospheric images and floral motifs, imbuing the night with an elegant, playful vibe.

As always, Monday’s guest list read like a Who’s Who from the worlds of arts and philanthropy. This year’s honorary chairs included dancer Misty Copeland, painter and filmmaker Titus Kaphar and Agnes Gund, who needs no introduction. They were joined by gala co-chairs Sarah Arison, Thomas Willhelm, Gillian Hearst, Michi Jigarjian, Sandra Tamer and Tony Tamer, who welcomed more than 250 attendees to what began as an elegant cocktail reception and quickly morphed into a celebration of talent that spanned dance, poetry, music and song, ultimately raising over $1.2 million in support of YoungArts’ mission.

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Under the direction of Gossip Girl’s Zuzanna Szadkowski, past YoungArts winners shared their talents: Sydney Burtis brought tap to the stage, jazz pianist Isaac Harlan played and actress Liisi LaFontaine sang, among others.

Notable attendees included the legendary Mikhail Baryshnikov, choreographer and director Bill T. Jones, curators Jasmine Wahi and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, actresses Katerina McCrimmon and Nicole Ari Parker and a host of visual artists, including Sarah Sze, Taryn Simon, Derek Fordjour, Camille Henrot, Glenn Ligon, KAWS, the Haas brothers and Kennedy Yanko. Also spotted in the crowd were MoMA PS1 director Connie Butler, MoMA director Christophe Cherix, MASS MoCA director Kristy Edmunds, The Studio Museum in Harlem director Thelma Golden, CEO of the Aspen Art Museum Nicola Lees, former MoMA director Glenn Lowry, Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak and many, many more. Suffice it to say, museum leadership was well-represented, as were philanthropists and cultural leaders, including Komal Shah, Jody Arnhold, Paul Arnhold, Wes Gordon, Ed Bass and Sasha Bass, Allison Berg, Marie-Josée Kravis, Dasha Zhukova Niarchos and Stavros Niarchos, Debi Wisch and Clara Wu Tsai.