FREE ARTS NYC
26th Annual Gala

Wednesday,
March 11, 2026

WSA
161 Water Street

CREATIVE CHAMPION
Jody Quon

ARTIST HONOREES
Katherine Bradford
Sasha Gordon


6:00PM COCKTAILS
7:00PM DINNER
9:00PM AFTER PARTY

LIVE PORTRAITS BY
Adam Dressner

COCKTAIL MUSIC BY
Michael Foster Trio

AFTER PARTY MUSIC BY
Lovie



ABOUT FREE ARTS NYC

Free Arts NYC empowers young people from underserved communities to develop their creativity, confidence, and skills to succeed. Through year-round arts education, 1:1 mentoring, and paid internships, we connect youth to caring adults and real-world pathways in the creative industries, helping them build futures filled with possibility.



INTRODUCING THE SKETCH PROJECT

A collection and auction of original sketches, notes, works in progress and works on paper by 75 artists and creatives who have shaped New York's cultural landscape. 

All works on view at the gala and available starting at $1,000. Bidding opens March 2nd on The Auction Collective and closes March 12th.

Our heartfelt thanks to every artist and creative who contributed.


Lindsey Adelman
Michael Assiff
Amanda Ba
Cristina BanBan
Angelo Baque
Gina Beavers 
Alexis Bittar 
Katherine Bradford
Beth Campbell
Brianna Capozzi 
Grace Carney
Roz Chast
Ethan Cook
Will Cotton 
Ann Craven
Julie Curtiss
Jane Dickson
Andie Dinkin
Carroll Dunham

CONTRIBUTORS

Rama Duwaji
Inka Essenhigh 
Leyla Fischer
Derek Fordjour
Elias Weiss Friedman
Futura
Roxane Gay 
Elizabeth Glaessner
Pam Glick
Sasha Gordon 
Hugh Hayden
Eric Haze
Daniel Heidkamp
Oscar Yi Hou
Devin B. Johnson
Tamo Jugeli 
Wyatt Kahn 
Susumu Kamijo
KAWS

Na Kim
Olivia Van Kuiken
Friedrich Kunath
Sadie Laska
Margaret Lee 
Jacob Littlejohn
Nate Lowman
Emily Manning
Shantell Martin 
Eddie Martinez
Jo Messer
Duane Michals
Debbie Millman
Marilyn Minter
Eileen Myles
LeRoy Neiman
Rebecca Ness
Danielle Orchard
Tony Oursler

Caleb Hahne Quintana
Erin M. Riley
Kenny Rivero
Isabel Rower 
Adrianne Rubenstein 
Hannah La Follette Ryan
Emma Safir
Jerry Saltz
Adrian Schachter
Constanza Schaffner
Fin Simonetti
Tschabalala Self
Marcus Leslie Singleton
Pedro Troncoso
Andre Walker
Lawrence Weiner Estate
Ben Werther
Dong-Ping Wong



ANNUAL GALA IN THE PRESS:

NYT

WWD


Thalassa Balanis
Mary Boone
Matthew Brown
The Brant Foundation

BENEFIT COMMITTEE

CANADA
Chiara Clemente
Alastair McKimm
Larry Ossei-Mensah

Gina Nanni
Doreen Remen
Jerry Saltz
Carla Shen

Sarah Stein-Sapir
Yvonne Force Villareal
David Zwirner


Jacques Agbobly
Amanita Gallery
Salome Asega
Harry Chadha
Adam Eli

AFTER PARTY HOST COMMITTEE

Carmen Rosy Hall
Ebony L. Haynes
Frank Lebon
Whitney Mallet

Jed Moch
Justin Moran
Hannah Root
Legacy Russell

Kathleen Sorbara
Alex Tieghi-Walker
Hannah Traore
Maria Vogel


THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Venue

Design

Framing

Art Handling

Wine

Bar

Auction


Nicole Bouchard
Dana Finesilver
Sky Gellatly
Helen Herssens

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Rachel Lambert
Eddie Martinez
David Mielke
Linda Schaps

Richard Schaps
Sarah Stein-Sapir
Nick Strauss
Trina Storfer

Carol Suchman
Denzil H. Wilson
Renier van Aswegen


Alex Alpert
Storm Ascher
Alex Bass
Peter Brockman
Bernadette DeAngelis

PATRON CIRCLE

Hannah Deits
Sarah Fleischer
Jonathan Illari
Andrew James
Ben Jordan

Tam Jumbala
Gia Kuan
Kim Picarillo
Steve Rojas
Gretchen Rouillard

Tariku Shiferaw

Andrew Stone

Vinutna Veeragandham
Anne Whiting


FOUNDER & CEO Liz Hopfan


Proceeds support over 1,000 young artists this year through our programs, building the confidence, connection, and creative pathways they need to succeed.

Tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and other inquiries: auction@freeartsnyc.org.