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Parties

Janelle Monáe Stole the Show at the Guggenheim’s Starry Gala Honoring Alex Katz and Frank Gehry

An art world legend, late architectural giant, and Abu Dhabi power player received their flowers before a rousing musical performance took the stage.

Schuyler Daffey

November 11, 2026

A photograph from the top of the Guggenheim's spiral staircase. — Under the Oculus: A Celebration of Visionaries at the Guggenheim. All photography by Jason Lowrie/BFA and courtesy of the Guggenheim.

Last night, the Guggenheim gathered a coterie of well-coiffed art-world luminaries for its annual gala, Under the Oculus: A Celebration of Visionaries. Honoring artist Alex Katz, cultural leader Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, and the late architect Frank Gehry, the evening featured a private exhibition viewing, a surprise performance, and dinner beneath the museum’s iconic rotunda.

The Occasion: The 2026 gala celebrated three figures whose influence spans the international art and architecture worlds. Katz, now in his late 90s, received the 2023 National Medal of Arts and was the subject of the museum’s sweeping 2022–23 retrospective,
“Alex Katz: Gathering.” Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, was recognized for his role in shaping the emirate’s cultural landscape. The evening also paid tribute to Gehry, whose gravity-defying designs, including the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, cemented his architectural legacy.

The Entertainment: Guests were treated to a private viewing of Taryn Simon‘s “Father Country I Do Love You,” the artist’s photographic, video, and sculpture installation, filling the entire rotunda through March. Following the reception, attendees were surprised with a performance by R&B and pop singer Janelle Monáe, whose crooning voice swept into the audience from atop a table, where she encouraged the crowd to join in on her buoyant refrains.

The Crowd: In attendance were gala co-chairs and Guggenheim patrons Lisa Baker, Abigail and Joseph Baratta, Caroline and Paul Cronson, Wendy Fisher, Andrew Gundlach, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, and Phyllis and Bill Mack. They were joined by vice chairs Gail and Al Engelberg, Larry Gagosian, Peter O. Lawson-Johnston, Sr., and director of the Guggenheim Museum and Foundation Mariët Westermann and Charles Pardoe. Also in attendance were artists Jeffrey Gibson, Alteronce Gumby, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Deana Lawson, Glenn Ligon, Oscar Murillo, Taryn Simon, and Avery Singer, as well as art world leaders Myriam Ben-Salah, Lisa Dennison, Marc Glimcher, Tina Kim, and Marc Payot.

Food and Drink: Guests settled in the rotunda for a sumptuous sprawl after the reception, with each plate deriving its gastronomic influence from the global museums in the Guggenheim constellation: Venice, Bilbao, and Abu Dhabi, where a branch of the museum opens Dec. 11.