A Dazzling Gala at the Guggenheim Honors Rashid Johnson and the NBA
The New York museum closed out gala season with roof-raising energy as the star-studded crowd explored Johnson’s landmark mid-career survey, gathered for a seated dinner by Chef Marcus Samuelsson, and enjoyed a full-band performance by The Roots
On December 9, the Guggenheim Museum in New York buzzed with creative energy as guests streamed into its spiraling rotunda for Under the Oculus: A Celebration of Visionaries. The annual benefit honored the National Basketball Association, the National Basketball Players Association, and acclaimed artist Rashid Johnson, whose sweeping mid-career solo exhibition “A Poem for Deep Thinkers” has drawn crowds since April. Supporters raised $2.4 million for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, a meaningful boost for the institution’s exhibitions, programming, and youth-focused initiatives.
The evening opened with cocktails within the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed landmark while DJ Aku Orraca-Tetteh spun a magnetic soundscape that moved through the rotunda and guided the crowd into the night’s cadence. Guests meandered through Johnson’s exhibition before settling into the rotunda for dinner. Poet Daemond Arrindell took the stage first and delivered spoken word that set a thoughtful tone for the night. A seated dinner then followed, with the James Beard Award–winning Chef Marcus Samuelsson serving a seasonal-inspired menu that moved from roasted squash with whipped ricotta to miso sea bass with oxtail fried rice and finally apple gratin with pink peppercorn crumble.
Mariët Westermann, director and CEO of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, joined board president Wendy Fisher and chairman J. Tomilson Hill to pay tribute to the honorees. Their remarks highlighted Johnson’s embrace of the museum’s new Teen Circle program and the NBA and NBPA’s support for organizations that guide young people toward professional pathways. The speakers also reflected on the legacy of Frank Gehry, architect of the Guggenheim’s Bilbao building and the soon-to-open Abu Dhabi museum, who died last week at age 96.
“Art and sport bring people together, often across vast distances and differences,” Westermann said during the ceremony. “Today, humanity needs more than ever of that unifying purpose, and we’re thrilled to amplify it with our NBA partners. We celebrate the deep commitment of the NBA and NBPA to future generations, and their sustained work with organizations that support school-to-career employment opportunities through the NBA Foundation. The Guggenheim is renowned for its youth programs, and so are the NBA and NBPA. These organizations provide outreach, opportunity, and support to young people around the world every day.”
Johnson followed with heartfelt remarks as his milestone exhibition approached its close. “You showed me what was possible before I could fully see it. This work and this life have always been relational, and tonight is a reminder of how deeply I am held,” he said. “Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for believing in me and thank you for allowing me this moment to exist. For this honor, for this institution, and for the faith you placed in me and my work to be recognized here in a museum that has shaped how we understand modern and contemporary art, ambition, risk, and care is profoundly meaningful.”
Johnson has built a far-reaching practice that draws from personal experience, art history, literature, philosophy, critical history, and cultural identity. He began his career in photography and quickly expanded his creative vocabulary to include sculpture, painting, drawing, video, and installation. He often works with materials charged with cultural and autobiographical significance such as shea butter, black soap, books, plants, and ceramic tile—elements that connect his work to narratives of lineage, growth, and self-examination. Recent projects have explored existential states that address interiority, anxiety, and change, giving his practice a clarity and urgency that resonate throughout his Guggenheim survey.
Additional tributes came from NBA commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA executive director Andre Iguodala before Naomi Beckwith, the museum’s deputy director, and Jennifer and David Stockman, chief curator, introduced a roof-raising performance by The Roots. The night closed with Orraca-Tetteh returning to the DJ booth.
A sharp chill outside only heightened the sense of occasion inside as artists, curators, and cultural leaders caroused in the rotunda. Rujeko Hockley, Flavin Judd, Tina Kim, David Kordansky, Francesca Scorsese, Kimora Lee Simmons, Sanford Biggers, Carol Bove, Alteronce Gumby, Sheree Hovsepian, Maya Lin, Angel Otero, Tavares Strachan, and Hank Willis Thomas were among those who gathered for a celebration that honored creative ambition, community, and the museum’s ongoing commitment to young people.
Scroll below to see more highlights from the star-studded evening.
