PHOTOS: Inside LA MOCA’s 2026 Gala

Keanu Reeves, Alexandra Grant, China Chow, and Alex Israel. Jojo Korsh/BFA.com

The Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s annual gala is arguably one of the most truly exciting evenings in Los Angeles, and the 2026 edition at The Geffen Contemporary did not disappoint. The $3 million night hosted an enthusiastic dancer and creative multi-hyphenate Stephen Galloway “It became more special because of it.” Piero GiuliaGreat contributions and the brilliance of a wide range of collaborators. Anne GoldsteinLA MOCA interim director Maurice Marciano told the Observer.

First on your itinerary? Guests lined up for cocktails at a reception featuring a beautiful performance by the MOCA Gala Symphony Orchestra along with an installation designed by Golia especially for the occasion. From there, with the reformatting of last year’s MOCA Legends, the gala celebrated three figures whose contributions to contemporary art are, in different ways, essential. To start, an artist and MOCA board member Tala Madani He took the stage to introduce the artist Paul McCarthyfollowed by The Brick exit Hamza Walkerin which the artist was introduced by his fellow co-curator of the “MONUMENTS” exhibition. Kara Walker. Board chair Carolyn Clark Powers The tribute concluded by recognizing the President of the Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo Eugenio Lopez Alonso For two decades of support.

Hamza Walker and honoree Kara Walker. Getty Images for MOCA

“When I returned to MOCA last summer as interim director, I returned to an institution deeply focused on its mission of presenting the most important and challenging art of our time,” Goldstein said, referring to the museum as “an ecosystem that enables artists to challenge, provoke, and transform our understanding of the world.”

Actors were seen among the gathered crowd Supriya Ganesh and Keanu Reeves (On the arm of the artist based in Los Angeles and Berlin Alexandra Grant), who shared the room with the director Ava DuVernaybest-selling author Minka Kellythe viewer Trisha Cardosoproject China Chowsinger and songwriter Rufus Wainwright and Dan Reynolds From Imagine Dragons. A venture capital investor and an art collector mingled among them Jarl MohnBusinessman and art collector Sonya Yupower couple Balthazar and Rosetta Gettythe benefactors Jerry and Terry Cole, Deborah Ermas and terry smoke, And university Heather Podesta, Cathy B. Cypress and Clifford J. Einstein.

Of course, the art world made a strong appearance as well. Director of the Hammer Museum Zoe RyanAmen Connie ButlerShowrooms Jeffrey Deitch and Estela Profafounder of the fund Mara McCarthy And a long list of artists who met the designer Johnson Hartigstructural engineer Colabat Yantrust And other prominent creators, giving the evening its special character of electric energy.