Glitter and club-worthy beats greeted guests at the annual benefit drawing a confluence of artists, tech titans, and cultural leaders
Words by CATHERINE BIGELOW
Photography by DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY
As reprogrammed Roombas swirled patterns of fuchsia glitter along a floor of the Asian Art Museum, it was clear a new dawn has broken at this vaunted cultural institution in the heart of San Francisco’s Civic Center. Created by Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir, the artist duo known as :mentalKLINIK, their sparkly Puff Out installation delighted 1,100 guests on Wednesday, October 22, at the museum’s annual gala and opening of its Rave into the Future: Art in Motion, a dynamic, club-inspired exhibition (curated by Naz Cuguoğlu) highlighting works by women and queer artists of the West Asian diaspora.
The glamorous evening — which raised $1.6 million for museum programs — also celebrated new director and CEO Soyoung Lee, who joined in April from Harvard Art Museums. Led by gala chairwoman Lillian Chun, with Varsha Rao and Vijay Shriram, their committee attracted a Who’s Who of Silicon Valley heavy hitters (including museum board chair Salle Yoo, vice chair Ram Shriram, Susy and Jack Wadsworth, Anjali Pichai, and Yahoo cofounder Jerry Yang and his wife, former museum board chairwoman Akiko Yamazaki), heralded artists (including Alex Israel, Masako Miki, Lisa Joy, and Maryam Yousif) and local cultural leaders (including SFFilm executive director Anne Lai, SF Conservatory of Music president David Stull, and Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center curator Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander).
Decked out in black-tie or cultural attire, guests commenced with cocktails in Bogart Court, where they were equally wowed by McCalls Catering and Events bountiful dim sum and sushi buffets, as well as IRL interactive artist presentations. Couturière Colleen Quen invited revelers to write blessing messages on hand-painted petals of one of her show-stopping gowns, while Mia Cunnan, Miss Asian California 2025, modeled Quen’s accompanying petal flower chapeau.
Throughout the night, galleries pulsated with artist activations. More than 800 guests joined the late-night Dream Party in the glorious Beaux-Arts environs of Samsung Hall, where DJ Umami and dance performance troupes enlivened the crowd. Some moves even unfurled atop a work by Rave artist Joe Namy, whose 100-foot interactive copper dance floor records the imprints of dancing visitors — of which the first footwork was applied by Daniel Lurie and Becca Prowda.
Upstairs, beneath a flower-festooned tent set on the museum’s East West Bank Art Terrace, 300 deep-pocketed donors supped on a delectable McCall’s three-course dinner (beet and Asian pear salad, a surf-and-turf curry sea bass with petite short ribs, pea flower coconut terrine and green tea gateau) as museum leaders toasted their A New Dawn gala.
“Tonight is the perfect expression of new beginnings, and thank you for helping celebrate my very first gala with the Asian Art Museum,” Soyoung Lee said. “Since arriving, I’ve been struck by the extraordinary creativity and generosity of spirit in this town and the larger Bay Area. I count myself so lucky to lead this beloved institution into the next era as we deepen our roots as the local cultural anchor, while becoming the global thought leader around how we define Asian culture and the Asian diaspora. As someone who’s been in the field of Asian art for a very long time, this museum has been my North star.” Rave into the Future: Art in Motion is on view through January 12, 2026. 200 Larkin St., S.F.; asianart.org.
Feature image: Xpressions San Jose performance in collaboration with EnActe Arts.
November 7, 2025
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