Glamour and philanthropy on the programme at the Art+Film gala in Los Angeles

On 4 November 2023, the 12th annual Art+Film gala was held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in the presence of more than 650 personalities from the worlds of art, film, entertainment and fashion.

 

Last Saturday, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the United States, the Art+Film gala created in 2011 welcomed its prestigious guests. The main purpose of this philanthropic and festive evening is to raise funds for LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). This is to support its efforts to place cinema at the heart of the museum’s programming and its wider ambitions to promote the 7th art. Five million dollars were raised during the 2023 edition of the gala.

 

Leonardo di Caprio and Eva Cbow at the before-scene, Judy Baca celebrated

 

As every year, the event was hosted by two renowned personalities. Eva Chow, LACMA trustee who oversaw her ex-husband’s Mr. Chow restaurants for many years and founder of his Khee soju brand of spirits, co-chaired the evening alongside iconic actor Leonardo DiCaprio. This last is the head of the head of the film currently in the room “Killers of the Flower Moon” Martin Scorsese.

 

 

Punctuated by a musical performance by Lenny Kravitz, the Art+Film event paid tribute to American artist Judy Baca. The artist, who has captivated Los Angeles for decades, is known for her impressive murals in which history, communities and place interact.

Judy Baca is notably responsible for the “Great Wall of Los Angeles”, a community mural several hundred metres long created in 1978 with the help of over 400 young people and artists. This truly humanist work, which highlights the vision and talent of women and minorities, was conceived under the aegis of the Social and Public Art Resource Center, founded by Judy Baca in 1974. A professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, the artist and activist “defends art in the service of equity for all”, as stated on her website.

 

 

“There are hundreds, probably thousands, of people with me on stage tonight, accepting with deep gratitude this recognition of our work, often against the odds” said Judy Baca at the gala.

 

David Fincher honoured

 

Art+Film also praised filmmaker David Fincher. Director of Madonna’s “Vogue” video in 1990, he made his first feature film in 1992 with “Alien 3”. Two years later, David Fincher unveiled “Seven”, a classic serial killer film centred on the seven deadly sins and starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey and Gwyneth Paltrow.

This was followed by “The Game”, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, and the cult classic “Fight Club” with Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter. Between 2000 and 2010, David Fincher directed Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network and Gone Girl. He also produced and directed the series House of Cards and Mindhunter.

David Fincher has modestly declared that he has “never considered directing as artistic”, taking a back seat to the “real artists” whose talents he uses to make his films.

 

Gucci, a long-standing partner

 

The evening brought together the biggest names in art, fashion, cinema and entertainment. Some 650 celebrities accepted the invitation.

From the world of art came Louise Bonnet, Jonas Wood, Analia Saban, Elizabeth Alexander and Jeffrey Deitch.

 

 

The film, fashion and business world was represented by celebrities Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, A$AP Rocky, Jane Fonda, Heidi Klum, Brad Pitt, François-Henri Pinault, Halle Bailey and Emma Chamberlain.

As it has done since its inception, the gala was supported by Italian luxury fashion house Gucci, which dressed a host of celebrities in the first Ancora Notte eveningwear collection by artistic director Sabato De Sarno, who arrived a few months ago. A glamorous and elegant evening in the company of elites.

 

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Front page photo: © LACMA