{"id":846997,"date":"2026-06-05T21:13:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/846997\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T21:13:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T21:13:02","slug":"photos-inside-la-mocas-2026-gala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/846997\/","title":{"rendered":"PHOTOS: Inside LA MOCA\u2019s 2026 Gala"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"\"<\/a>Keanu Reeves, Alexandra Grant, China Chow and Alex Israel. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art\u2019s annual gala is arguably one of L.A.\u2019s most genuinely exciting evenings, and the 2026 edition at The Geffen Contemporary did not disappoint. The $3 million night was hosted by ebullient dancer and multi-hyphenate creative Stephen Galloway<\/a><\/b> and \u201cwas made all the more special through Piero Golia<\/a>\u2019<\/b>s fantastic interventions and the brilliance of a wide cast of collaborators,\u201d Ann Goldstein<\/a><\/b>, LA MOCA\u2019s Interim Maurice Marciano<\/a> Director, told Observer.<\/p>\n

First up on the itinerary? Guests queued up for cocktails at a reception featuring a beautiful performance by the MOCA Gala Symphony Orchestra alongside an installation conceived specifically for the occasion by Golia. From there, bringing back last year\u2019s MOCA Legends format, the gala f\u00eated three figures whose contributions to contemporary art are, in different ways, foundational. To start, artist and MOCA board member Tala Madani<\/a><\/b> took the dais to introduce artist Paul McCarthy<\/a><\/b>, followed by The Brick\u2019s director Hamza Walker<\/a><\/b>, who introduced his fellow \u201cMONUMENTS<\/a>\u201d co-curator, the artist Kara Walker<\/a><\/b>. Board Chair Carolyn Clark Powers<\/a><\/b> rounded out the tributes by recognizing Fundaci\u00f3n Jumex Arte Contempor\u00e1neo president Eugenio L\u00f3pez Alonso<\/a><\/b> for two decades of support.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Hamza Walker and honoree Kara Walker. Getty Images for MOCA<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I returned to MOCA last summer as interim director, I came back to an institution firmly focused on its mission of presenting the most significant and challenging art of our time,\u201d Goldstein said, pointing to the museum as an \u201cecosystem that empowers artists to challenge, provoke and transform our understanding of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spotted in the assembled crowd were actors Supriya Ganesh<\/a><\/b> and Keanu Reeves<\/a> <\/b>(on the arm of Los Angeles and Berlin\u2010based artist Alexandra Grant<\/a><\/b>), who shared the room with filmmaker Ava DuVernay<\/a><\/b>, bestselling author Minka Kelly<\/a><\/b>, showrunner Trisha Cardoso<\/a><\/b>, producer China Chow<\/a><\/b>, singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright<\/a><\/b> and Dan Reynolds<\/a><\/b> of Imagine Dragons. Mingling among them were venture capital investor and art collector Jarl Mohn<\/a><\/b>, entrepreneur and art collector Sonya Yu<\/a><\/b>, power couple Balthazar<\/b> and Rosetta Getty<\/a><\/b>, philanthropists Jerry<\/b> and Terri Kohl<\/a><\/b>, Deborah Irmas<\/a><\/b> and Terri Smooke<\/a>,<\/b> and collectors Heather Podesta<\/a><\/b>, Kathi B. Cypres<\/a><\/b> and Clifford J. Einstein<\/a><\/b>.<\/p>\n

The art world\u2019s own showed up in force, too, of course. Hammer Museum director Zo\u00eb Ryan<\/b>, curator Connie Butler<\/a><\/b>, gallerists Jeffrey Deitch<\/a><\/b> and Esthella Prova<\/a><\/b>, The Box founder Mara McCarthy<\/a><\/b> and a long list of artists rubbed elbows with designer Johnson Hartig<\/a><\/b>, architect Kulapat Yantrasast<\/a><\/b> and other notable creatives, giving the evening its own brand of electric energy.<\/p>\n

Supriya Ganesh
\n\"\"<\/a>Supriya Ganesh. Photo by Stefanie Keenan\/Getty Images for MOCA
\nMinka Kelly and Dan Reynolds
\n\"\"<\/a>Minka Kelly and Dan Reynolds. Jason Sean Weiss\/BFA.com
\nPaul McCarthy
\n\"\"<\/a>Paul McCarthy. Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for MOCA
\nKaryn Kohl and Alex Israel
\n\"\"<\/a>Karyn Kohl and Alex Israel. Getty Images for MOCA
\nCarolyn Clark Powers and Terri Smooke
\n\"\"<\/a>Carolyn Clark Powers and Terri Smooke. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com
\nRufus Wainwright
\n\"\"<\/a>Rufus Wainwright. Photo by Stefanie Keenan\/Getty Images for MOCA
\nAlicia Blanco and Poch Blanco
\n\"\"<\/a>Alicia Blanco and Poch Blanco. Jason Sean Weiss\/BFA.com
\nJoy Simmons
\n\"\"<\/a>Joy Simmons. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com
\nKeanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant
\n\"\"<\/a>Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant. Getty Images for MOCA
\nAva DuVernay
\n\"\"<\/a>Ava DuVernay. Getty Images for MOCA
\nRebecca Morris
\n\"\"<\/a>Rebecca Morris. Jason Sean Weiss\/BFA.com
\nPiero Golia and Ann Goldstein
\n\"\"<\/a>Piero Golia and Ann Goldstein. hoto by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for MOCA
\nFrances Stark
\n\"\"<\/a>Frances Stark. Getty Images for MOCA
\nAlfonso Gonzalez Jr.
\n\"\"<\/a>Alfonso Gonzalez Jr. Getty Images for MOCA
\nTala Madani
\n\"\"<\/a>Tala Madani. Photo by Stefanie Keenan\/Getty Images for MOCA
\nDiana Thater
\n\"\"<\/a>Diana Thater. Photo by Stefanie Keenan\/Getty Images for MOCA
\nSonya Yu and Rodney McMillian
\n\"\"<\/a>Sonya Yu and Rodney McMillian. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com
\nNadezhda Tolokonnikova
\n\"\"<\/a>Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. Getty Images for MOCA
\nMax Hooper Schneider
\n\"\"<\/a>Max Hooper Schneider. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com
\nConnie Butler and Tala Madani
\n\"\"<\/a>Connie Butler and Tala Madani. Getty Images for MOCA
\nChristina Quarles and Alyssa Polk
\n\"\"<\/a>Christina Quarles and Alyssa Polk. Getty Images for MOCA
\nPersia Dime and Charles Dime
\n\"\"<\/a>Persia Dime and Charles Dime. Jason Sean Weiss\/BFA.com
\nMonique McWilliams, Glenn Kaino and Maurice Harris
\n\"\"<\/a>Monique McWilliams, Glenn Kaino and Maurice Harris. Jason Sean Weiss\/BFA.com
\nKulapat Yantrasast, Celesta Hodge and Max Hooper Schneider
\n\"\"<\/a>Kulapat Yantrasast, Celesta Hodge and Max Hooper Schneider. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com
\nMonique McWilliams and Kenturah Davis
\n\"\"<\/a>Monique McWilliams and Kenturah Davis. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com
\nAri Marcopoulos and Kara Walker
\n\"\"<\/a>Ari Marcopoulos and Kara Walker. Getty Images for MOCA
\nMore in Parties<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keanu Reeves, Alexandra Grant, China Chow and Alex Israel. Jojo Korsh\/BFA.com The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":846998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[153623,80840,67995,648,346253,346257,1582,276,346251,346254,346265,346267,186205,346261,346268,346252,61155,346250,346263,346255,179963,346259,346270,166630,346264,26534,346271,2961,346244,224,5337,346269,346247,186204,8160,80834,19608,346249,346246,346258,81151,346256,2549,346245,233255,346248,346260,346262,249131,346266],"class_list":["post-846997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-alexandra-grant","tag-america-united-states","tag-ann-goldstein","tag-arts","tag-ava-duvernay","tag-balthazar-getty","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-carolyn-clark-powers","tag-china-chow","tag-clifford-j-einstein","tag-connie-butler","tag-dan-reynolds","tag-deborah-irmas","tag-esthella-prova","tag-eugenio-lu00f3pez-alonso","tag-galas","tag-hamza-walker","tag-heather-podesta","tag-jarl-mohn","tag-jeffrey-deitch","tag-jerry-kohl","tag-johnson-hartig","tag-kara-walker","tag-kathi-b-cypres","tag-keanu-reeves","tag-kulapat-yantrasast","tag-la","tag-la-moca","tag-los-angeles","tag-losangeles","tag-mara-mccarthy","tag-maurice-marciano","tag-minka-kelly","tag-museums","tag-nightlife-dining","tag-parties","tag-paul-mccarthy","tag-piero-golia","tag-rosetta-getty","tag-rufus-wainwright","tag-sonya-yu","tag-southern-california","tag-stephen-galloway","tag-supriya-ganesh","tag-tala-madani","tag-terri-kohl","tag-terri-smooke","tag-trisha-cardoso","tag-zoe-ryan"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=846997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/846997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/846998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=846997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=846997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=846997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}