About 350 people attended the Queens Museum’s 50th anniversary gala held on May 12 to celebrate the venue’s vision of uplifting the diversity and creativity of Queens, while honoring two artists for their outstanding work.
Artists, fashion designers, musicians, curators and civic leaders attended the event that honored Korean American artist Christine Sun Kim and Queens’ own Tremaine Emory, a designer and creative director of Supreme and founder of the label Denim Tears.
Kim’s large-scale mural “Time Owes Me Rest Again” is currently on view at the museum on the monumental wall encasing the “Panorama of the City of New York.”
The evening began with a cocktail party featuring music curated by DJ DZA and drinks and small bites provided by Queens Night Market vendors. Strolling through the galleries, attendees enjoyed tours of exhibitions “Suzanne Lacy: The Medium is Not the Only Message” and “Stephanie Dinkins: On Love and Data.” The night’s emcee, artist and musician Ian Isiah, then welcomed guests to the central atrium for a seated dinner presented by Abigail Kirsch.
During the celebration, Queens Museum President and Executive Director Sally Tallant announced $1.5 million in new funding for the upcoming children’s museum, including major gifts from the Suna Family Foundation and from Board Chair Peter Warwick and Helen Warwick.
This new phase of capital work to create the connected Museum, an “intergenerational multilingual family learning center rooted in art and culture,” has also received $4 million in recent funding from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.
Kimaada Le Gendre, director of education, announced the creation of the Queens Teens Institute for Arts and Social Justice, which will further cement the museum’s dedication to nurturing the youngest talent in the city, through integral programming that builds on the museum’s celebrated Queens Teens initiative. Tallant then led a paddle raise for the museum’s impactful programming.
