The Brooklyn Museum hosts an artists' ball with the help of Dior

While the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Met Ball is all about fashion, on the other side from the East River, the artists of the Brooklyn Museum The ball is all about art.

In keeping with this, the 12th Annual Artists Ball will honor pioneering artist and activist Carrie Mae Weems, whose A career spanning over 40 years cannot be defined by a single profession. The multi-dimensional talent's work includes photography, text, fabric, mixed media and installation. Through this, she has documented the Black experience by examining themes of sexism, class and political systems, as well as addressing systemic violence against Black people.

Weems' art will soon be featured in an exhibition at the museum titled "Movement in All Directions : Legacies of the Great Migration", which traces the movement of millions of black Americans from the post-Reconstruction South to other parts of the country. His work has been featured in such exhibitions at the museum, including one in 2017, "We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85", and another in 2008, "Burning Down the House: Building a Feminist Art Collection". Related Galleries

Brooklyn Museum curator and director Anne Pasternak said that deciding to salute Weems at the gala of April 25 did not involve a competition with anyone else. “When you think about what artists have had and are having a big impact on the world, Carrie Mae comes to mind, frankly, pretty immediately. She was the first and only person we thought of this year,” Pasternak said.

Although the spring gala is all about artists, it will be presented for the first time this year by Dior. Having first partnered for the fall 2021 debut of "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" at the museum, the brand's interest in staying involved and supporting the gala "delighted" museum officials, Pasternak said. “It's such an artist-centric organization. They are so in tune with our audience."

Dior artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri was honored at last year's ball and she will co-host this year's gala with Regina Aldisert, Henry Elsesser, Marley B. Lewis, Janet Mock and Carla Shen. The art-centric host committee consists of Marilyn Minter, Judy Chicago, KAWS, Jesse Krimes, Antwaun Sargent and Laurie Simmons. Artist and Brooklyn Museum Board Member Mickalene Thomas will provide the decor for this year's event.

Inevitably, the Artists' Ball faces comparison with the Met Gala but each has its place. Pasternak said, “The Met Ball is the fashion ball. It's the artists' ball. This is an event that we have been organizing for a very long time. It's not about celebrities coming in the latest dresses. It's about artists and people who love artists coming together and celebrating. It's a very diverse audience. It's a very fun party - Swizz Beatz DJs every year. There is no comparison. It's a completely different thing. The Met Gala is really about supporting their Costume Institute. The Artists' Ball supports everything the [Brooklyn] Museum does."

Recalling how, when she joined the Brooklyn Museum seven years ago, Pasternak said: "People were like, 'Well, we're number two at the Met?'"

She continued, "Who wants to be number two, right?"

To this end, the team has "put a lot of effort into...