On Monday night, about 500 people gathered in the Hudson Yards neighborhood of Manhattan for the fourth-annual gala for the Shed, the $475 million arts center that opened in 2019. It has since hosted a concert series by the director Steve McQueen and Quincy Jones and is currently staging Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, “Here We Are.”
For the gala, the Shed’s colossal main hall was transformed into a carpeted room with tables spread among low, blobby couches.
“I feel like I’m in NASA,” one guest said, adding that the venue felt big enough to accommodate a rocket launch.
The evening honored M&T Bank, which has partnered with the center since it began, and the Santo Domingo family, who are longtime supporters. The crowd included the ballerina Misty Copeland, who is also a board member; the designer Wes Gordon; and the hip-hop duo the Dragon Sisters, who are part of the Shed’s Open Call program, which commissions projects from emerging artists in New York.
During cocktails, Lauren Santo Domingo, a co-founder of the luxury site Moda Operandi, mingled with the designer Zac Posen as classical covers of pop songs played. The actress Tiffany Haddish chatted with Alex Poots, the Shed’s founding artistic director and former chief executive, while servers offered trays of Peking duck and small plates of short rib and chicory salad.
The evening, which raised more than $1.5 million, was “fuel” for the organization, Mr. Poots said. “It’s a coming together to say thank you to everyone,” he said. “But it’s also a way to re-energize everyone, and also to celebrate who we are and where we’re going.”
After dinner, Ms. Haddish introduced Questlove, in a surprise appearance, and said it was time to dance. As he played a “Lady Marmalade” mix, a server, mouthing the lyrics to the song, passed around mini cinnamon-sesame doughnuts.
“Take your shoes off! Take your shoes off!” Ms. Haddish said, as she followed her own instructions and started dancing. The crowd followed suit and took over the dance floor.
Below, see photos from the Shed and the Central Park Conservancy galas held in New York City this week.
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About 500 people attended the event at the Shed, an arts center in Hudson Yards.Credit…Nina Westervelt for The New York Times
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The Central Park Conservancy Gala
On Wednesday night in Central Park, green lights pierced the darkness as guests, many also in green, made their way into white tents at Rumsey Playfield for the Central Park Conservancy’s annual gala.
The evening, with the theme of “A Night in the Emerald City,” raised $1.3 million for the park, which the nonprofit group has been managing for the city for more than 40 years.
“This is a way for us to talk about what we want to do, the responsibility we have and our mission to make sure New Yorkers always have this magnificent place,” said Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, the president and chief executive of the conservancy.
Keeping to the “The Wizard of Oz” theme, attendees were surrounded by giant red-paper poppies that towered over the cocktail area. In the middle of the room, a yellow brick road turned into a yellow brick bar.
More than 400 guests attended, including Martha Stewart, a longtime supporter of the conservancy; Meera Joshi, the city’s deputy mayor for operations; the influencer Tina Leung; and Jill Lafer, a conservancy board member and a former Planned Parenthood board chair.
For dinner, attendees were served an “over the rainbow” salad of fall vegetables and spiced beef filet. Bright orbs and large, green ornamental décor floated above a dance floor near the stage.
The actors Talia Suskauer and Kara Lindsay, alumnae from the Broadway musical “Wicked,” performed songs from the show including “For Good,” a farewell duet between the main characters, Elphaba and Glinda. Dancing began as dinner ended and members from the conservancy’s Greensward Circle, its network of young professionals, joined the party.
What were you thinking about when you got dressed tonight?
What’s your earliest memory in Central Park?
