Cate Blanchett and Zadie Smith Were Honored at The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Virtual Gala

Each year, attendees of The Brooklyn Academy of Music Gala expect the unexpected. It’s a break from the tuxedos and taffeta that populate gala red carpets each May and the party is always an irreverent and imaginative affair. Last year, the Brooklyn Expo Center transformed into a neon-lit arcade where disco balls glittered above the likes of Ethan Hawke and Margarita Levieva. The year before, Pringles and bodega flowers lined banquet tables in a cruise terminal and honoree Jeremy Irons, sporting an orange scarf and pirate boots, ate Milk Duds.

For this year’s gala, BAM hoped to recreate a bit of the magic with an online event that took place last night. During which, the organization’s devotion to the arts showed even more clearly through the technical challenges it pushed through.

The Brooklyn Youth Chorus began the night with a performance of Philip Glass’s “Liquid Days.” The mosaic of children’s faces testified to the transcendent power of music as the many squares harmonized together. Perched in front of a bookcase, honoree Cate Blanchett acknowledged the evening’s bittersweet nature: “I only wish I could be in that extraordinary space at BAM and thank you all in person. It’s a great sadness to me given the electric nature of not only the spaces at BAM but the people who work there and move through there.”

That electricity was preserved, albeit in a different frequency, through the performances of Alvin Ailey’s Hope Boykin, who danced near her home in Harlem, and St. Vincent, who strummed an electric guitar. As in year’s past, there was an impressive auction and last night’s lots included works by Richard Serra and Alex Katz.

“Like most of you,” Zadie Smith confessed, “I’m wearing sweatpants.” The author described her gratitude for being honored by an institution that she called “a central pillar of New York.”

The digital format of this year’s fundraiser, focused primarily on the contributions of female artists, was refreshingly inclusiveness. Able to be streamed by the public, the celebration embraced a democracy impossible at private benefits, no matter how large. Around the world, viewers could listen, admire, and learn from the honorees. And through their screens, inspiration and creativity could be found.