New York Academy of Art’s TriBeCa Ball
The world of New York’s art insiders gathered on Monday, April 8th at the New York Academy of Art to host their 24th annual TriBeca Ball. Admired for his larger-than-life sculptures and hard hedge paintings, artist Brian Donnelly, also known as KAWS, was honored at the Academy’s Franklin Street Building with the event sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels as well as Champagne provided by Champagne Bollinger.
The TriBeCa Ball dazzled with décor inspired by the motif of Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhmabra Collection celebrating luck. Prior to heading down to dinner by renowned chef Daniel Boulud, guests enjoyed four floors of amazing space, including everything from drag queen stilt walkers pouring champagne, live art-making demos, and musicians performing sweet melodies. Each floor had many art students in their own studio spaces. Guests were able to mingle with these students and learn about their art making process while picking up pieces for their personal collections.
The city’s art-world insiders and A-listers including Liev Schreiber, Coco Rocha, Naomi Watts, Brooke Shields, and Kevin O’Leary (aka Mr. Wonderfull), Donna Karan and more, attended the New York Academy of Art’s TriBeCa Ball. Upon entering, guests were greeted by stilt walkers pouring Champagne Bollinger’s Special Cuvée from magnum sized bottles.
As soon as she arrived, Brooke Shields immediately went over to the character on stilts and watched in admiration as he poured Champagne Bollinger into her glass. Coco Rocha interacted with the stilt walkers as well, even taking the magnum sized Bollinger bottle from them to pose for pictures.
From a magician, stilt walkers, to golden glamour girls meandering throughout the four floors, every room was transformed to honor this year’s theme of “luck,” providing ample nooks and crannies for eager guests to explore.
As the cocktail portion of the evening started to near an end and the staff started to guide guests into the dinner, Brooke Shields took matters into her own hands, grabbed a bottle of Champagne Bollinger’s Special Cuvée, and topped off her glass of bubbly.
The gala raised over $850,000 to support scholarships for student artists and public programs.
Photos provided by New York Academy of Art
