El Museo del Barrio’s Annual Gala Kicks Off New York Fashion Week by Celebrating Latin American Art and Culture

What better way to kick off New York Fashion Week than with a celebration of all things Latinoamérica in the arts? This week, New York City’s El Museo del Barrio welcomed back its Annual Gala. Attendees ascended the iconic steps of the Plaza Hotel and headed in for a night filled with art, creatives, and, of course, dancing. This is, after all, a celebration of Latinx and Latin American art and culture. The dress code, you ask? Artful, colorful black-tie—and attendees certainly understood the assignment.

To start the evening, El Museo del Barrio’s executive director, Patrick Charpenel, shared remarks about the organization’s progress in the past year, announcing an expansion and noting how crucial the support of the Latino arts community has been to their mission to increase representation in this space, a point further illustrated by the heavyweight list of gala co-chairs, including Tony Bechara, Karla Harwich, Maria Eugenia Maury, and Vogue’s Karla Martinez de Salas. Attendees this year included designers Willy Chavarria, Jonathan Cohen, and Ana Khouri, along with models Lineisy Montero and Hiandra Martinez.

The event is El Museo del Barrio’s single most important fundraising event of the year, and provides critical support for the museum’s mission and to increase the awareness and relevance of Latinx and Latin American art and culture locally, nationally, and internationally.

The evening honored the artist Coco Fusco for Excellence in the Arts and Juan Beckmann for Outstanding Patrons of the Arts. It also celebrated the winner of the inaugural Maestro Dobel Latinx Art Prize, Carlos Martiel. Awarded every two years, the Maestro Dobel Latinx Art Prize aims to raise awareness and amplify the cultural production of Latinx artists. The prize includes a $50,000 grant and showcase in the museum’s galleries in Spring 2024. “It’s nice to be the first,” Martiel says, “and I want more artists like me to receive this support.”

There was a sense of familiarity in the air—this was a collective of people who not only understand the importance of representation in the arts, but who also practice what they preach. Hugs were tight and vigorous waves were shared across tables between patrons of the arts and those who create it, all people who have risen the ranks of the industry hand-in-hand, each offering a leg up to one another with every rung on the ladder they climb. Coco Fusco, who has been involved with El Museo since 1991, said it best: “Even though Latinos are the largest ethnic minority in the United States, we’re underrepresented in museums and private art collections,” she shared shortly after accepting her award. One important part of the solution? Patrons who uplift artists in this community. “We need to strengthen the bonds between us and need them to put us where we belong.”

Following dinner, guests sipped on Maestro Dobel Tequila and danced the night away to music by the Grammy-winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra. A silent auction, hosted by Artsy, was also held in person and will continue online through September 12. Featured artists include Bony Ramirez, Ilana Savdie, Farley Aguilar, Felipe Baeza, Justin Favela, Enoc Perez, Glendalys Medina, Yanira Collado, Liliana Porter, Lizania Cruz, Camilo Godoy, Devin Osorio, José Ortiz Pagan, Dario Escobar, and Yvette Mayorga.