By Chiara Piacdentini
Staff Writer
It was a big day for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on a Saturday night in the City of Angels. A host of top A-list celebrities came out on Nov. 6 to display their sense of fashion while also raising money for the famed museum, with some donations landing in the six-figure range. This year’s gala managed to raise a grand total of $5 million.
While the typical fashion show has the average magazine editor and influencer in the crowd of spectators, this annual event is more exclusive. The show was held at Urban Light, which is a section of LACMA that consists of an assemblage of city street lights created by an American artist, Chris Burden. Burden is best known for his most unsettling piece of artwork dating back to the 1970s where he made his friend shoot him in the arm with a small rifle.
Since this year’s LACMA Gala was presented by Gucci, their new creative director, Sabato De Sarno, and his model trio had the privilege of catwalking first in their Ancora Notte frocks. Next came a more recognized figure, A$AP Rocky, along with Pedro Pascal, Elliot Page and Andrew Garfield donned in De Sarno’s first designs for formal attire. Kim Kardashian sashayed in a flowing hot pink Balenciaga dress while Billie Eilish, as per usual, opted to play it casual with a more baggy black jacket and pants.
Some of the other star attendees who graced the halls of the museum were Jennifer Lopez with Ben Affleck, Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves. Leonardo DiCaprio, who was also in attendance, earned the co-chair position for the gala for the twelfth year in a row. Lopez and Affleck made quite the star-studded duo with Lopez in a lacy nude Gucci gown while Affleck featured a black Gucci tuxedo. Reeves and his long-time girlfriend, Alexandra Grant, were the other notable couple in attendance with Reeves decked in a black tuxedo with Grant to match in a striking black dress.
Judy Baca moved the event along as she was the chosen art honoree for this year’s function. Baca is known for having orchestrated the creation of The Great Wall of Los Angeles in the 1970s; this art mural spans an impressive 1,000 feet of California history.
“I’ve been painting for over half my life in the LA River, telling the story of the people who disappeared from the river banks,” she said at the event.
Baca’s currently working to expand this story into the 21st century by collaborating with artists from the Public Art Resource Center. Together, they’re painting two more mural sections at LACMA and plan to add them to The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which will create a mile-long visual history of the Golden State.
The two sections, titled “Painting in the River of Angels: Judy Baca and The Great Wall,” are now on display in the Resnick Pavilion (a building within LACMA that stores temporary art exhibitions). So, even though the LACMA Gala is now over, you can still visit this exhibit through June 2, 2024.
