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Parties

The Kitchen Tips Its Hat to Four Groundbreaking Women in Documentary and Experimental Film

In an evening co-chaired by Ava DuVernay, Julie Mehretu, and more the Kitchen toasted Garrett Bradley, Cheryl Dunye, Shari Frilot, and Catherine Gund.

Cultured Magazine

May 22, 2026

Simone Leigh and Ziwe Fumudoh at the Kitchen’s 2026 gala. All photography by Deonté Lee/BFA and courtesy of the Kitchen.

The Occasion: For its annual spring gala, the Kitchen honored an acclaimed slate of female filmmakers, including Cheryl Dunye, director of The Watermelon Woman; Garrett Bradley, director of Time and Below Dreams; Shari Frilot, chief curator of the New Frontiers program at Sundance; and documentarian Catherine Gund. The evening—co-chaired by arts and film leaders Ava DuVernay, Julie Mehretu, Ja’Tovia Gary, Rebecca Cleman, Rajendra Roy, and Komal Shah—was an exuberant recognition of those paving the way for budding directors everywhere.

The Locale: Nestled at the tip of the High Line, right on the water, a coterie of artists, curators, filmmakers, musicians, and patrons flocked to City Winery for a night with industry chatter and cross-disciplinary conversation on the menu, right next to the selection of reds and rosé.

The Crowd: Amongst the gathered crowd, one could spot the Kitchen’s Executive Director and Chief Curator Legacy Russell; musicians KeiyaA; artist and musician E. Jane; actor Jodie Foster; artists Mickalene Thomas and Simone Leigh; comedian Ziwe; Daniel Chew, Ten Izu, and Tin Nguyen of CFGNY; Artists & Mothers co-founder Julia Trotta; model and gallerist Gabrielle Richardson; choreographer Kyle Abraham; collectors Robert Soros and Valeria Napoleone; and curator Jasmine Wahi.

The Entertainment: Former artist-in-residence at the Kitchen’s Dance and Process program Rena Anakwe emceed the evening, handing off the stage to Russell, Tanya Selvaratnam, Jacqueline Woodson, Sarah Jones, Robyn Farrell, Yolonda Ross, Rafael Hines, and Zoe Lukov for remarks throughout the night. In a special performance, KeiyaA also brought her urgent, searching soul music to the event.