The New Museum’s 2024 Spring Gala Was a Celebration of Artistic Community
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The New Museum’s 2024 Spring Gala was not only an event that brought some of the world’s finest artists together under one roof, it also served as a celebration of the community that ultimately fuels the art world.
An exceptional cohort of artists came together Tuesday night at Casa Cipriani South Street in New York City to toast this year’s gala honorees, artists Mickalene Thomas and George Condo. As this is one of the more colorful, eclectic fetes on the city’s calendar, guests were, of course, dressed for the occasion, sporting looks that included vibrant tulle gowns, sharp suiting, and—yes—florals for spring. Guests included Harper’s Bazaar editor in chief Samira Nasr and executive digital director Lynette Nylander, writer Antwaun Sargent and gallerist Hannah Traore, photographers Tyler Mitchell and Quil Lemons, and musicians Maxwell and Tierra Whack.
After a brief welcome and introduction by museum board members Gael Neeson and Dakis Joannou, actor Tracee Ellis Ross served as the evening’s official host in a hand-painted peekaboo gown crafted by Marni’s own Francesco Risso. Musician and activist Deon Jones was the night’s guest performer, following a lively auction that had guests bidding on prizes ranging from a one-of-a-kind Mickalene Thomas designer Dior bag and a Jeff Koons–curated private cruise off the coast of Greece. By the end of the night, $2.1 million had been raised for future New Museum programming.
Before Thomas took the stage, writer and MacArthur Fellow Jacqueline Woodson shared a few words about her multi-hyphenate friend, saying: “Mickalene seems to be everywhere at once, and yet she is one person—one lovable, gentle, caring, and deeply thoughtful person who walks through this world.”
Woodson continued: “The New Museum has been a home for radical imagination, and Mile has used her own radical imagination, radical generosity, and radical connections to change the world. Each time I break bread with my friends, I know that I am in the company of greatness. I am in the company of change.”
Thomas used her time onstage to highlight the importance of mentorship, visibility, and creating with the next generation in mind.
“My art has always been about more than pretty pictures,” she said. “Seeing the deep dark complexities of Blackness, of the Black body and its loveliness, is what pushes me forward to making what I make. It’s about creating a language that resonates and that challenges societal norms.”
Thomas continued: “It’s about claiming space, taking up room, making you gaze at the beauty and power of women that look like me, and women that come before me and after me, and on and on. I’m talking about rewriting history, rewriting, redefining femininity, and rebelliously loving ourselves.”
“I am a light … I’m a bright light, and I have an ego that is a light only for others,” she concluded. “And I will continue to be a model for people to become always their best selves.”
The night’s other honoree, painter George Condo, also referenced the importance of intention while making art in his own speech.
“All of us are artists and work for this life, and it’s the life of the child within us that really brings that message forward,” Condo said. “Thank you to the New Museum for what you’ve done to wake people up and to give this platform to artists to be able to express themselves, and knowing and understanding that we are in a constant search for ourselves. That’s why museums are so important … the people that come to visit and see what we do … they make us feel like we have something to believe in.”
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