On The Scene: Whitney Museum’s Annual Art Party with Ashley Graham, Zosia Mamet and more

Feeling breezy, we made our way downtown to be around the who’s who of art at The Whitney Museum’s annual Art Party. It was quite a scene.

New York’s most essential party people stepped out for Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual Art Party last night, hosted at the Whitney’s Meatpacking District domain. The Art Party has reach cult status in recent years (thanks in part to the new downtown location) and has become one of the most talked-about and sought-after events of the winter social calendar. Anybody who’s somebody is there. Okay, we’ll chill on the Gossip Girl dramatics and cut to the chase: Supermodel Ashley Graham and 2017 Whitney Biennial artist Raúl de Nieves hosted a pre-party dinner that brought together over a hundred celebrities, designers, artists, and Whitney supporters including Nina Dobrev and Victor Cruz. They dined in good interests: all proceeds (including those for the party) go to Whitney’s Independent Study Program and other education initiatives.

As for the party itself (which we dropped in on at the prime hour of 11:00 p.m.) was scenic and beautiful, we caught up with arts extraordinaire Meagan Morrison (the genius behind TravelWriteDraw) as well as made eye contact and hand waves with DJ Chelsea Leyland, Zosia Mamet (of Girls fame, and general badass- she’s always be vocal about the arts), fashion phenom Eric Rutherford (who, when asked about an afterparty, said: “yeah, my bed for a few hours then I’m off to London”). We witnessed designer Timo Weiland briefly takeover DJ duties from The Misshapes as a group of devoted dancers took their place before the throne/DJ booth. Not far away, some gymnastic fabulousness was coming from a team of performance artists (cc: P!nk). Joe Bradley was there with a piece of art he made especially for the evening as well as partnership with Birkenstock which allowed guests to use a pretty insane photo booth.

Of course, the real pleasure is getting a chance to walk around the towering Whitney Museum after hours, affording intimate views of Laura Owen’s thoroughly modern and controlled digital works, which were born out of her earlier explorations of painting (even when it wasn’t chic!). Jokes on all of us when you walk through Jimmie Durham’s “At the Center of the World” with his found artifacts and exploration of cultural intersections. And of course, it wouldn’t be the Whitney without happening upon a Hopper or two.

The Art Party is hosted by the Whitney Contemporaries, a group of young leaders and arts patrons who play an active role in fulfilling the Whitney’s critical mission of supporting American art. Explore membership here.

Photos by Zach Hilty / BFA.