Public art is what transforms the art world from a space for those in the know into a movement accessible to all—a cause that Creative Time has championed since 1974. Last night, the nonprofit hosted its biggest fundraiser of the year: the annual Creative Time Gala, in partnership with CULTURED and Bottega Veneta.
The event, this year thrown at Skylight at Essex Crossing in New York’s Lower East Side, honored Creative Time’s board chair, Jon Neidich; artist Rick Lowe; and “public secret society” New Red Order. Guests including Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, Veronica de Piante, Jasmine Wahi, Antwaun Sargent, Hannah Bronfman, Hunter Abrams, Jill Magid, and Mickalene Thomas arrived to encounter the space transformed: lined with oversized black balloons and decked out with sprawling bouquets, with an inflatable tube man on display courtesy of New Red Order.
Gala co-chairs Brooke Garber Neidich, designer of Sidney Garber and arts aficionado; actor Jeremy Strong; and stylist Kate Young presided over the evening's festivities. Though all black seemed to be the dominant choice of the night, Strong showed up in a brown suit, a recurring favorite for the Succession star.
The evening culminated with performances by West Dakota, DJ Ty Sunderland, and a number of special guests, such as Blue Rose Royalty. Descending the staircase dressed as Pierrot-esque clown, West Dakota kicked the night off with a lip sync dance number to “It’s Oh So Quiet” by Björk. As the night unfolded, guests made their way onto the checkerboard dance floor, complete with a pair of illuminated disco balls resting in the center.
Amid the raucousness of the evening, the event's purpose was clear to all in attendance. Deputy Director of Creative Time Natasha Logan summarized the organization's mission in her remarks, saying, “We offer safety to artists as they push past the edges of comfort in order to share, in a distinct way, the issues of our day for the public to consume.”
