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Society, Meet Slope: Inside the Art Production Fund’s 2026 Après Ski-Inspired Gala

Marilyn Minter, Mickalene Thomas and other New York art world luminaries traded their studios for shotskis, while Sarah Hoover made the fondue, the Polar Bears made the playlist and the Art Production Fund made a record-breaking $1 million.

The Art Production Fund has thrown some memorable themed parties, but its 15th annual gala—an après-ski fantasia staged at the Seagram Building—may have been its most committed. Under cool blue lighting, fur-clad glitterati in trailing gowns and winter whites nabbed nibbles from servers in Moncler puffers, threw back Absolut Tabasco from a shotski and watched artist Amanda Ross-Ho (a former competitive figure skater) find her edge in her durational work Untitled Figure (Reprise).

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There was a line at Kelly Wall’s Wistful Thinking custom penny press for most of the cocktail hour, making it a prime spot for people watching. Among the more than 300 guests, Observer spotted former Clinton aide and author Huma Abedin, fashion CEO Stacey Bendet, socialite Nicky Hilton Rothschild, angel investor and influencer Hannah Bronfman, architect Kulapat Yantrasast, entrepreneurs Rachel Blumenthal and Neil Blumenthal, art collector Christine Mack, celebrity doctor Jake Deutsch and designers Cynthia Rowley, Sergio Hudson and Anna Sui. The artists on site included co-chairs Derrick Adams and Sanford Biggers, Mickalene Thomas, Will Cotton, Marilyn Minter, Michael Chuapoco and Ludovic Nkoth.

Upstairs at dinner, the assembled VIPs from media, fashion, finance, philanthropy and art found their way via place settings styled as ski passes before sitting down to an alpine-inspired menu designed by author Sarah Hoover: fondue, truffle pizza and chicken schnitzel paired with lemon drop martinis and spiked hot chocolate kept the après-ski illusion alive. The Art Production Fund raised a record-breaking $1 million+ that night, thanks in part to a spirited paddle raise led by art advisor Gabriela Palmieri. From there, the night’s speakers capped off the speechifying with another rounds of ski shots before the fittingly themed DJ duo the Polar Bears took to the deck to spin classic anthems from the early aughts.

It was Aspen by way of Park Avenue until the clock struck midnight. Observer heard murmurs of an après-après party that may or may not have involved the influencer Tinx, gallerist Hannah Traore, writer Amanda Lee Burkett, illustrator Angelica Hicks, heiress Ivy Getty and author Chloe Wise, among others, but before we could confirm, the lights went up, and people were packing away their parkas.

Sarah Hoover and Matt Mercer

Kathleen Lynch and Casey Fremont Crowe

Marilyn Minter and Sanford Biggers

Yvonne Force Villareal, Will Cotton and Cynthia Rowley

Maneesh Goyal and Rachel Blumenthal

Mickalene Thomas and Latham Thomas

Honor McGee, Jennifer Fisher and Tina Leung

Jenny Mollen and Stacey Bendet

Wisdom Kaye and Samuel Hine

Danielle Hankin and Sami Deller

Bianca Lawson and Hannah Bronfman

Kulapat Yantrasast and Yvonne Force Villareal

Genevieve Roth, Carri Twigg and Nadia Nascimento

Vanessa Riding, Stephanie Horton and Priya Shukla

Alexander Hankin and Makenzie Phelan

Federica Parruccini, Jenny Chandler and Adrienne Hahn

Will Cotton and Rose Dergan

Terrence Charles and Angelica Hicks

Sujin Dolan and Nicole Federico

Neil Blumenthal and Umindi Francis

Brian Atwood and Jake Deutsch

Doreen Remen and Yvonne Force Villareal

Rafa Olarra and Derrick Adams

Wisdom Kaye, Samuel Hine, Hannah Traore, Terrence Charles, Quil Lemons and Brooke Wise

Chloe Wise, Brooke Wise and Hannah Traore

Bianca Lawson and Sergio Hudson

Our Favorite Looks From the 2026 Grand Dîner du Louvre

Our Favorite Looks From the 2026 Grand Dîner du Louvre

This Is What You Missed at SCHWET’s Steamy, Under-the-Radar Debut

This Is What You Missed at SCHWET’s Steamy, Under-the-Radar Debut

Petals and Patrons at the Plaza: Inside the New York Botanical Garden’s 2026 Orchid Dinner

Petals and Patrons at the Plaza: Inside the New York Botanical Garden’s 2026 Orchid Dinner

Old Master Grandeur and Modern Patronage Converge at the 2026 Norton Museum of Art Gala

Old Master Grandeur and Modern Patronage Converge at the 2026 Norton Museum of Art Gala

Design for the Discerning Eye: Inside the Winter Show’s Young Collectors Night Party

Design for the Discerning Eye: Inside the Winter Show’s Young Collectors Night Party

SEE ALSO: Art Genève Courts Galleries With a Different Market Logic

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