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| Charles Gaines, photo: Frederik Nilsen; Chase Strangio, photo: Naima Green |
The Hammer Museum announced today that artist and educator Charles Gaines and lawyer and transgender rights activist Chase Strangio will be honored at the 18th annual Gala in the Garden on Saturday, October 8, 2022, marking the return of the in-person celebration recognizing artists and innovators. Mark Bradford and Laverne Cox will deliver the tribute speeches for Gaines and Strangio respectively.
Hammer Director Ann Philbin said. “Charles Gaines has been an important artist and intergenerational mentor for decades, with deep roots in the Los Angeles art community and beyond. Chase Strangio is an inspiring national leader in the fight for trans rights, through both litigation and advocacy. We are thrilled to honor Charles and Chase at our first in-person gala since 2019.”
The museum’s largest fundraising event attracts cultural and civic leaders in Los Angeles, as well as artists, collectors, and patrons of the arts. The last Gala in the Garden in 2019, which honored Judy Chicago and Jordan Peele, raised $2.7 million for the museum.
Proceeds from the gala will support the Hammer’s dynamic and internationally acclaimed exhibitions and public programs. On view this fall are Joan Didion: What She Means, an exhibition as portrait by guest curator Hilton Als; Picasso Cut Papers, a survey of works on paper spanning the artist’s full career; and Bob Thompson: This House is Mine, a traveling retrospective of the visionary African American painter.
Since 2005, the Hammer’s Gala in the Garden has honored an artist and a cultural luminary who have made profound contributions to society through their work. Past honorees include Hilton Als, Laurie Anderson, Margaret Atwood, John Baldessari, Mark Bradford, Judy Chicago, Joan Didion, Ava DuVernay, Dave Eggers, Frank Gehry, Robert Gober, Matt Groening, Todd Haynes, Diane Keaton, Mike Kelley, Barbara Kruger, Tony Kushner, Glenn Ligon, Paul McCarthy, Joni Mitchell, Catherine Opie, Jordan Peele, Lari Pittman, Miuccia Prada, Charles Ray, Ed Ruscha, Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker, and Alice Waters.
