With the 2025 Met Gala just around the corner, a handful of celebrities got a head start on a fancy night out and trekked to Brooklyn to celebrate another cultural institution.
The Brooklyn Museum’s 2025 Artists Ball, presented by Dior, drew a crowd on Tuesday ranging from Kerry Washington and Emma Roberts to Swizz Beatz and Alexandra Daddario. The event honored the Ford Foundation’s president, Darren Walker.
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“Darren, for me, is the epitome of courageous global leadership,” said Anne Pasternak, the museum’s Shelby White and Leon Levy director, before guests shuffled upstairs to the Jeffrey Gibson-designed environs in the museum’s central atrium.
“He’s been at the Ford Foundation for 11 years now, and they have programs all over the world supporting arts and culture. He’s supported this idea that culture brings us together in our shared humanity,” Pasternak added.
As it turns out, Pasternak’s neighbor, Keri Russell, was a longtime fan of the museum. “I used to come with our then-toddlers,” Russell said. “We used to come in the olden days when they had dance parties on Saturdays. I didn’t grow up in New York, and we live in this incredible city, and that’s what’s special about it — getting to see all this unbelievable art.”
That message seemed to be the common thread among attendees. For Auli’i Cravalho, a recent New York transplant of “Moana” fame, “Knowing that Dior has a long-standing relationship with the Brooklyn Museum, it’s such an important time to stand behind the arts, especially during this administration.”
It was Cravalho’s first time at the museum, and for good reason. After moving to New York only eight months ago, she’s had a stint onstage for “Cabaret” and a few animated projects coming up following the success of “Moana 2,” which premiered last year.
Alexandra Daddario also has a lot on the docket, missing next Monday’s Met Gala for filming in Pittsburgh, Pa. “I’ll be dressed up to watch the livestream, though, and toasting to everyone who is there,” she said.
Washington, on the other hand, would be attending next week’s festivities but stayed mum on what she planned to wear. “Maintaining support for the institutions that remind us who we are and celebrate art and humanity is really important,” she said.
After dinner, guests found their way downstairs for a Swizz Beatz-DJ’d after party.
Launch Gallery: Kerry Washington, Emma Roberts and More at the Brooklyn Museum Artist Ball
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