The party was shipshape!
Hundreds of artists and the people who love them flocked to a Navy Yard warehouse on April 28 for public art organization Creative Time’s annual gala, and attendees can’t stop raving about how great the former shipyard factory looked decked out with artworks, lights, and party decorations.
“It really was a spectacular space,” said Suzanne Cochran, who is co-chair of Creative Time’s board. “It was so beautiful.”
The factory — which will soon be home to embattled local chocolatier Mast Brothers — sported a “Miami” theme that included beach chairs and themed cocktails to celebrate guest of honor Craig Robins, a real estate developer and art collector famed for creating the Florida city’s high-end “design district.”
The gala, which ultimately raised $40,000 for the group, also honored contemporary installation artist Rirkrit Tiravanija — best known for cooking Thai food as part of his pieces — who printed napkins for every seat, Cochran said,
The group chose the Navy Yard space in part because it is near the site of the Creative Time’s next big performance piece, “Fly By Night” — in which Red Hook artist and pigeon keeper Duke Riley will guide thousands of birds to fly in formation above the Fort Greene industrial park sporting tiny lights on their tiny legs.
The organization is renowned for its attention-grabbing, large-scale works, which include the two massive searchlights that shone in place of the original World Trade Center to commemorate Sept. 11, and the 35-foot sugar coated sphinx-woman statue that artist Kara Walker created inside Williamsburg’s old Domino Sugar factory in 2014
Likewise, Cochran says, the outfit always chooses eye-popping locations for its annual shindigs — last year’s was inside a 125-year-old cathedral.
“They’re usually in very unique, crazy spaces people haven’t seen before,” she said. “They’re not like any other benefit.”
