Ruffled Dresses And Vintage Style Filled The Met Museum For YoungArts Gala

The 2023 YoungArts New York Gala was held last night at the Metropolitan Museum of New York. It’s a gala that celebrates “artists as vital to our humanity,” according to Sarah Arison, the gala co-chair of YoungArts alongside Gillian Hearst, Sandra Tamer and the honorary chair, Agnes Gund.

The evening was held inside the Temple of Dendur at the Met, an Egyptian temple crowned by Horus, the god of the sky.

What makes the YoungArts organization special is that it supports young artists and designers—including fashion designers. Their program, initially called the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists, was founded in 1981 to help support up-and-coming talents.

Now, there are programs for teens between the ages of 15 to 18, who are eligible for awards, and further creative development programs. Past participants of their program include Timothée Chalamet, Vanessa Williams, Viola Davis and model Hunter Schafer.

The style memo of the night was artsy, colorful and bold. Curator and writer Sharon Coplan Hurowitz was spotted wearing a pink checkered jacket.

Meanwhile, actor Nicole Ari Parker wore a stylish, oversized purple pantsuit by Valentino, pairing it up with the Diane clutch by Joseph Duclos, and Dare to Dream jewelry by Maison Birks.

Singer Rebecca L. Hargrove wore a dazzling sequin dress, while art collector Carla Shen wore an eye-catching Barbie pink gown. Tom Murro wore a Brooks Brothers suit with shoes by To Boot, and pop artist Ashley Longshore was spotted wearing a custom dress made by New York designer Dennis Basso.

The night featured performances by a wide ranging roster of artists that included Jay Julio, Violetta Maria Norrie, Miranda Johnson, Margaret Glaspy, Lucas Kadish, Amanda Krische and more, from tap dancing to opera singing, guitars and spoken word.

The gala committee includes well-known figures in the culture scene, including artists like Glenn Ligon, Mickalene Thomas, Peter W. Kunhardt Jr., and the board of trustees includes theater actor and singer Michael McElroy, author Kristy Edmunds and actor, Zuzanna Szadkowski.

Notable attendees included KAWS, Klaus Biesenbach, Victoria Brito, Laurie Tisch, Kara Moore, Bjorn Amelan, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Ashley Longshore, Kenny Scharf, Deb Willis, and others. The event raised almost $1 million to support artists across the country.