The Whitney Turned Disco at the 2025 Art Party
The party was a fundraiser for the Museum’s Independent Study Program and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Photography by Deonte Lee
Bell bottoms, platform shoes, sequins, disco balls, and over-poured drinks are just a few iconic things we noticed at The Whitney Museum’s 2025 Art Party. This year, they paid tribute to a timeless spot in New York City: Studio 54. It’d be an understatement to say that guests were dressed to impress. As soon as you walked in, what they called “Studio 99” looked and felt like being in the opulent, celebrity-filled club in the late 1970s.
From wall to wall, the space was filled with emerging artists, established artists, art patrons, entrepreneurs, and those in the art, culture, fashion, and entertainment fields. As guests strutted through the museum in their best throwback looks, they were able to explore the museum, and even though there were hundreds of people in attendance, walkthroughs felt merely empty compared to The Whitney’s daily busy traffic. On view was the Edges of Ailey, an exhibition that pays tribute to the late Alvin Ailey, a dancer, activist, choreographer, and director—and the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Studios.
Photography by Deonte Lee
Although the glamorous party took us back in time, a sense of modernization permeated the night—that may have been due to the bar inside the freight elevator and trendy hors d’oeuvres and desserts. The sounds of DJs The Muses and Jenny Albright accompanied the disco-themed party sponsored by Aesop, Cynthia Rowley, and Maestro Dobel Tequila. The Art Party was hosted by The Whitney Contemporaries Micaela Erlanger, Adam Fields, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo, Kelly Long, Fred Baba, Jessica Gersh, Molly Krause, Suzanna Lee, Heather Ripley, and Catherine Smith Licari.
Many prominent faces were in attendance, such as Mischa Barton, Julia Haart, Cynthia Rowley, Jill Stuart, Christine Sun Kim, Na Kim, Tabboo!, Kit Keenan, Plant Kween, Quil Lemons, and many more. But it wasn’t all about dancing and drinking at The Whitney Art Party, it was also a fundraiser for the Museum’s Independent Study Program. The leading postgraduate program offers studio art, curatorial studies, and critical studies to support artists, and the Art Party raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.
