2021 Aperture Gala
Free Virtual Gala
Wednesday, October 20, 6:00 pm ET
Open to all
Intimate In-Person Celebration
Tuesday, October 19, 7:00 pm ET
Selina, 518 W 27th St, New York
Ticketed, Supporter level and above
Performance by
Queen Esther
Honorees
Sara Cwynar
Graciela Iturbide
Dr. Kenneth Montague
Cohosts
Julie Bédard
Kate Cordsen
Lyle Ashton Harris
Cathy Kaplan
Lisa Rosenblum
The Aperture gala is our annual celebration of photographers and the photo community, and our biggest fundraiser of the year. In 2021, we welcome everyone to join our free online program, which will be complemented by an intimate in-person celebration with our honorees. Your generosity provides critical sustaining support for Aperture’s publications, educational initiatives, exhibitions, and public programming.
The Aperture gala is our annual celebration of photographers and the photo community, and our biggest fundraiser of the year. In 2021, we welcome everyone to join our free online program, which will be complemented by an intimate in-person celebration with our honorees. Your generosity provides critical sustaining support for Aperture’s publications, educational initiatives, exhibitions, and public programming.
Registrations are currently closed for the 2021 Aperture Gala. We appreciate your interest. For questions, write to benefit@aperture.org.
Auction
Artsy Online Auction to Benefit Aperture
Online Bidding is open through Tuesday, October 26, 1:00 PM ET.
Register to bid here.
Featuring work by Dawoud Bey, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Sara Cwynar, Angélica Dass, Graciela Iturbide, Jamal Nxedlana, Carrie Mae Weems, and more.
Honorees
Sara Cwynar
Aperture honors Sara Cwynar for her research-driven and visually complex photographs that investigate color and consumer culture on the occasion of her first monograph, Sara Cwynar: Glass Life (Aperture, 2021). Cwynar’s images constitute the hallmark of contemporary post–Pictures Generation work—in which photography is pursued in relation to film, sculpture, digital culture, and the cultural and technological history of image-making. Her previous artist books include Kitsch Encyclopedia (2014) and Pictures of Pictures (2014), and her film Red Film (2018) was featured in the 2018 São Paulo Biennial and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Graciela Iturbide
Recognized today as one of the greatest living photographers in Latin America, Graciela Iturbide envisions the rich cultural heritage and diversity of life in Mexico, particularly its Indigenous traditions. Known for her lyrical black-and-white photographs, Iturbide has transformed everyday life into poetic and powerful art for more than fifty years. Aperture honors Iturbide’s decades-long practice and inspiring work, including her upcoming title for Aperture’s Photography Workshop Series.
Dr. Kenneth Montague
Dr. Kenneth Montague started the Wedge Collection in 1997 to acquire and exhibit art that engages multifaceted ideas of Black life through the lenses of community, identity, and power. Aperture honors Dr. Montague on the occasion of the release of As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic, a forthcoming Aperture book presenting a compilation of photographs from the Wedge Collection. Featuring over one hundred works by Black artists from Canada, the Caribbean, Great Britain, and the United States, as well as throughout the African continent, the volume serves as a testament to the support provided to artists by collecting and amplifying their work.
Committees
Underwriter
Thomas R. Schiff*
Champion
Cathy M Kaplan* and Renwick D Martin
Judy and Leonard Lauder
Lisa Rosenblum* and Nina Celebic
Innovator
Clarissa Alcock Bronfman
Michael Hoeh*
Ingram Content Group
James and Melissa O’Shaughnessy*
Yesim and Dusty Philip
Leader
Peter Barbur* and Tim Doody
Julie Bédard*
David Dechman and Michel Mercure
Dr. Stephen W. Nicholas* and Ellen Sargent
Pier 24 Photography
Creator
Diana Barrett and Bob Vila
Katie and Jim Brennan
Allan Chapin* and Anna Nilsson
S.B. Cooper* and R.L. Besson
Elizabeth* and William Kahane
Philippe Laumont*
Mark* and Elizabeth Levine
Marina and Andrew Lewin*
Anne Stark Locher* and Kurt Locher
Vasant Nayak* and Sheela Murthy
Helen Nitkin* and Joel Rosenkranz
Louise and Alan Weil
Casey* and Lauren Weyand
Supporter
Dawoud Bey*
Mona Wakim Brown
Mara Burros-Sandler
James Cohan
Peter J. Cohen
Romy Cohen
Kate Cordsen*
Randi and Bob Fisher
Dawn and Chris Fleischner
Elaine Goldman*
Richard Grosbard
Darlene Kaplan and Steve Zuckerman
Noel E. D. Kirnon
Marian Goodman Gallery
Claudia and Gunnar Overstrom
Marnie S. Pillsbury
Rosalie Rowey
Kara Ross
Ann G. Tenenbaum
Lara Trafelet
Shira P. White and BeautifulNow
Committee
Farah Al Qasimi
Kwame Samori Brathwaite*
Teju Cole
Julie Crooks
Tim Davis
Lucy Gallun
Kristen Gresh
Lyle Ashton Harris*
Melissa Harris
Julia Joern*
Jean Karotkin
Marc David Levine
Joel Meyerowitz*
Susan Meiselas
Pablo Ortiz Monasterio
Philip Montgomery
Elle Pérez
Legacy Russell
Trevor Schoonmaker
Jamel Shabazz
David Benjamin Sherry
Colette Veasey-Cullors*
Deborah Willis*
*Aperture Trustee
Sponsors
Partners
