The Brooklyn Artists Ball at the Brooklyn Museum, April 2022. (Photo: Matthew Carasella)
Swizz Beatz, Kerby Jean-Raymond, Janet Mock, Chuck Schumer, and more gather in celebration of Maria Grazia Chiuri, Saundra Williams-Cornwell, and W. Don Cornwell
The Brooklyn Museum celebrated the eagerly awaited return of its annual gala, the Brooklyn Artists Ball, on Tuesday, April 12. Throughout the night, over six hundred guests from the art world and beyond joined the joyous fete recognizing three guests of honor: Maria Grazia Chiuri, Saundra Williams-Cornwell, and W. Don Cornwell. The event raised a landmark $2.4 million, a boon for the Museum’s collection and its ambitious slate of special exhibitions and public programs in 2022.
The night kicked off with a cocktail reception in the Museum’s lobby, where guests sipped signature cocktails provided by Belvedere and water provided by Perrier. Throughout the evening, partygoers were seen immersing themselves in a futuristic virtual reality experience by Marco Brambilla and voguing in an elaborate photo booth designed by Randy Polumbo. Guests were then escorted to a seated dinner in the Museum’s lofty Beaux-Arts Court, which had been transformed by event designer David Stark into a galaxy of shimmering planets with orbs suspended above.
The revelry continued with the annual Artists Ball After Party, which welcomed an additional six hundred guests. DJ Runna warmed up the dance floor and, as always, headlining producer, rapper, and Brooklyn Museum Trustee Swizz Beatz DJ’d a crowd-rousing set that closed out the night on a high.
In addition to the Museum’s stalwart community, a host of celebrities and notables from the art and entertainment industries were in attendance, including: Judy Chicago (artist), Maria Grazia Chiuri (fashion designer), Angel Bismark Curiel (actor), Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean (musician and producer), Jamie Dinan (investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist), Ja’Tovia Gary (artist), Thelma Golden (curator and museum director), Wes Gordon (fashion designer), Rujeko Hockley (curator), Kerby Jean Raymond (fashion designer), Kelsey Lu (musician), Nicholas Ma (film producer), Guadalupe Maravilla (artist), Marilyn Minter (artist), Janet Mock (writer, director, and television host), Samira Nasr (Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief), Jodie Patterson (writer), Randy Polumbo (artist), Beth Redmond (curator and collector), Rachele Regini, Duke Riley (artist), Phoebe Robinson (comedian), Chuck Schumer (Senate majority leader), Robert Soros (investor), Hank Willis Thomas (artist), Tina Vaz (art, culture, and design strategist), Connie Verducci (bank executive), and Kristen Joy Watts (creative director and producer).
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