The British Museum will host its second fundraising ball on 17 October following the high-profile Pink Ball last year which raised more than \u00a32m. Tickets last year cost \u00a32,000; the cost this year is \u00a33,500 a head including a donation, said a museum spokesperson.<\/p>\n
Funds raised at this year\u2019s ball, which takes place during Frieze Week in the capital, will go towards the museum\u2019s masterplan, which is estimated to cost at least \u00a31bn; the ambitious overhaul <\/a>includes a complete reworking of the Western range of the museum, new welcome pavilions and an energy centre designed to reduce the museum\u2019s carbon footprint.<\/p>\n The designer Es Devlin is the artistic director for this year\u2019s ball which, she says, \u201cwill help the British Museum continue to offer over six million people each year free immediate access to two million years of human history\u201d. Devlin is known for large-scale installations such as Library of Us\u00a0which was unveiled at Miami Beach<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n The theme and visual identity of the 2026 Ball will be\u00a0red, which the museum says was the earliest pigment known to have been used by humans in artistic expression.\u00a0\u201cRed\u00a0is a unifying thread woven through all three of the museum\u2019s upcoming displays, from the embroidered wool of the [Bayeux] tapestry [10 September-11 July 2027], the stripes of the American flag [Declaring independence: USA 250, until 29 November] to the rich hues found across centuries of Korean art [Korea, 1 October-31 January 2027],\u201d said a museum statement.<\/p>\n The hedge fund billionaire Igor Tulchinsky, who has reportedly given<\/a> \u00a35m in sponsorship for the forthcoming Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, will serve as the \u201cevening\u2019s honorary chair\u201d in recognition of his support, the museum says.<\/p>\n Tulchinsky emigrated to the United States as a child from Belarus; he is the founder and chief executive of WorldQuant, a quantitative investment firm with $17bn in assets according to Forbes<\/a>, which values his personal fortune at $1.7bn.<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s Pink Ball was attended by more than 800 guests including the former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the artists Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin.<\/p>\n