Aperture Celebrates 70 Years at Its 2022 Gala

On October 17, Aperture’s annual fundraising gala celebrated the organization’s seventieth anniversary and the wide breadth of Aperture’s influence on the field of photography. Acknowledging this milestone, Executive Director Sarah Meister introduced a short video celebrating Aperture: “Since its founding seventy years ago, Aperture has been an inspiration and a guide for photo-curious people everywhere. I am proud to lead an organization supporting artists and shaping the conversation around the ways in which photographs help us see one another and our world more clearly.”

Jeffrey Hoone, Hank Willis Thomas, Deb Willis, Lyle Ashton Harris, Sarah Meister, Dawoud Bey, Cheryl Finley, Colette Veasey-Cullors, Kwame S. Brathwaite, Nicole Fleetwood, Ari Marcopoulos, and Kara Walker

Gala Co-chairs Yesim Philip, Antwaun Sargent, Kara Ross, and Helen Nitkin, with Cathy Kaplan and Sarah Meister (center)

Stuart Cooper, Becky Besson, Sheela Murty, and Vasant Nayak

Judy Glickman Lauder, Celso Gonzalez Falla, and Cathy M. Kaplan

Antwaun Sargent, Deb Willis, Tyler Mitchell, and Cheryl Finley

Sarah Meister, Tom Schiff, and Mary Ellen Göke

Wesley Garlington

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The night served as a joyous moment of reflection and an opportunity to look forward to exciting advancements. The event was co-chaired by Helen Nitkin, Yesim Philip, Kara Ross, and Antwaun Sargent, and coincides with the “70th Anniversary” issue of Aperture magazine released last month, which explores the uniqueness of this moment. The issue features original commissions by leading artists and photographers alongside celebrated, incisive writers who were tasked with exploring the Aperture archive. The result, editors of the magazine note, “reveal[s] that however much photography and this magazine evolved, sometimes radically, Aperture remained committed to thinking about the meanings of pictures, and all that might encompass.”

The evening also looked ahead to Aperture’s future home, a new space located on the Upper West Side that will serve as a hub for connecting artists and ideas with members of Aperture’s expanding community. The move will take place in 2024, and act as the home base for the organization’s production of the flagship magazine alongside books, exhibitions, limited-edition prints, public programming, and digital initiatives. In welcoming remarks from the night, chair of the board of trustees Cathy M. Kaplan said enthusiastically, “It marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in Aperture’s long and distinguished history.”

The night began with a cocktail hour featuring drinks from Tito’s Handmade Vodka and Stella Artois Beer and a silent auction of limited-edition prints from Aperture’s commemorative 70 x 70 print sale. As guests transitioned to dinner upstairs, they were welcomed by Aperture staff members and remarks from Meister, Kaplan, and Aperture Creative Director Lesley A. Martin.

Dinner was served by PINCH and guests enjoyed musical sets by Wesley Garlington, Matt Ray, Danton Boller, and Joél Mateo. An additional live auction led by Christie’s followed dinner featuring works by Sebastião Salgado, Sally Mann, Nan Goldin, An-My Lê, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Richard Learoyd.

The celebration continued into the night at the Aperture Etcetera Afterparty with lively DJ sets from artists Awol Erizku and Stefan Ruiz. The Self Portrait Project’s unique photo booth captured the celebratory mood of the night while guests danced the night away over drinks and dessert.
Proceeds from the Gala support Aperture’s Stevan A. Baron Work Scholar program, award-winning publications, educational initiatives, exhibitions, and public programming. You can still support Aperture’s essential work here.