Hammer Museum gala brings out the stars, and an Ava DuVernay speech about men
The Hammer Museum at UCLA offers collections, exhibitions, and programs that span the classic to the contemporary in art, architecture, and design. Every year, the Hammer hosts its Gala in the Garden, one of the museum's biggest fundraisers. Proceeds support museum exhibitions and public programming, which are always entirely free to the public.
"Ava DuVernay had a few choice words for men at the Hammer Museum’s Gala in the Garden on Saturday night. Taking to the stage after an enthusiastic introduction by J.J. Abrams, the evening’s honoree said she would normally devote her speech to women, but on this night she was switching things up.
“I won’t focus on men … who develop and dwell in the dark, dangerous places that make the world unsafe for so many women,” said DuVernay, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the 2016 feature documentary “13th.”
“I will focus on the men I’ve encountered who chose not to use their privilege to diminish but rather to uplift. Tonight, I’m gonna tell a few stories about the good guys — in a spirit of salute, in a spirit of sanctuary, in a spirit of soothing an open wound that has been festering past the point of attention and care.”
The filmmaker’s words fell on the ears of a Hollywood-heavy crowd reeling from the mounting allegations of sexual misconduct against producer Harvey Weinstein.
Jessica Lange, Marisa Tomei, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zachary Quinto, Diane Keaton and other celebrities joined such art-world stars as Mark Bradford, Barbara Kruger and Frank Gehry. All were present to honor DuVernay and New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als and to support the Hammer, which raised $2.4 million at the annual event."— Jessica Gelt, Oct. 15, 2017
Read the full article at the Los Angeles Times website.
Read more about the Gala in the Garden from the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Vanity Fair, Vogue, New York Magaine, and People Magazine.