There Was a Lot of Gucci in the Crowd at LACMA’s Art+Film Gala

“Two children of the same family” was how Alfonso Cuarón described the relationship between the disciplines at the ninth annual Art+Film Gala, presented by Gucci, on Saturday night. The filmmaker was honored alongside artist Betye Saar at the star-studded event (cochaired by Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio), which brought the two worlds together in a way that perhaps only Los Angeles can. After all, where else might you see Billie Eilish and Jared Leto having a tête-à-tête with Naomi Campbell under the glow of Chris Burden’s Urban Light; Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, and John Legend taking a selfie; or Guillermo del Toro and Nick and Susie Cave watching Anderson .Paak perform?

Such was the scene as the crowd that included Keanu Reeves, Catherine Opie, Gia Coppola, Ava DuVernay, Beck, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Tyler, the Creator was greeted with cocktails and caviar in the LACMA courtyard by the museum’s director, Michael Govan, and Gucci’s Alessandro Michele. Guests were then treated to a dinner of jamón ibérico, patatas bravas, and gambas al ajillo from award-winning chef Joachim Splichal of Patina.

After dinner John Legend took to the stage to introduce Saar, recalling that he had bought a piece of her work with his first paycheck and describing her as “an icon of the feminist and black art movement.” The 93-year-old native Angeleno, clad head to toe in Gucci, currently has a show on at the museum covering nearly five decades of her work. Donald Glover, meanwhile, was tasked with introducing Cuarón, telling the crowd that he looks to the director’s film Children of Men for inspiration before starting any project.

The evening wrapped up with the 800-odd attendees joining Ricky Martin, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, and Thelma Golden on the dance floor for a DJ set from Rainey Qualley and a performance by Anderson .Paak the Free Nationals. A perfect scene to sum up the evening’s intersection of art and film would be hard to imagine.