Finding Joy at BAM With Solange

It takes years of training to get on a stage as prestigious as the one at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House, but for one night, all it takes is one ticket to the benefit hosted right on the stage. Wednesday evening, the Brooklyn Academy of Music hosted its spring benefit, honoring artist Solange Knowles and arts producer and advocate Mikki Shepard.

BAM president Gina Duncan was nearly moved to tears during her speech explaining Knowles and Shepard’s impact. “They’re both incredible curators in their own right,” Duncan told the Cut. “I would not have found a home here if it weren’t for the work that Shepard had done in the ’70s. And Solange’s program ‘Eldorado Ballroom’ last year reminded me so much of why I’m in this role.”

The Fashion

The dress code was Brooklyn Chic, which meant a mix of bold prints, oversize glasses and scarves, dresses with sneakers, more than a few sequin gowns, and, in true New York fashion, lots of black. There were a few Telfar bags (a.k.a. the Brooklyn Birkin) and a handful of Luar bags. (Luar’s designer, Raul Lopez, who managed to bring Beyoncé to Bushwick, was seated with Solange.) I talked to choreographer Kyle Abraham, in a Comme des Garçons shirtdress and trousers, and art director Sabla Stays, in a floor-grazing Acne Studio dress, explained that her stylist friend was able to secure it last-minute.

The Food and Drinks

The cocktail hour took place in the lobby just outside the theater, which smelled like popcorn (unfortunately, there was no popcorn available). There were oysters (wait staff shucked them right in front of you), tiny various vegan bites of zucchini and carrot, chicken curry, and fried codfish.

The signature drink of the evening was the Bee’s Knees, a mixture of Brooklyn gin, honey, and lemon. I opted for the rosé instead, a bubbly and sweet option from the McBride Sisters. There was also dinner, if you didn’t fill up on a little bit of zucchini. The first course was a gazpacho that was followed by a strip steak that got a few oohs and aahs from the crowd. Dessert was petit fours passed around during one of the performances.

The Music

Attendees were treated to not one but three performances. In between dinner and conversation (“Did you watch the latest Abbott Elementary?” “Did anyone listen to Taylor Swift?” “What about Kendrick Lamar?”), the evening opened with Nailah Hunter on the harp. “That was so peaceful,” my dinner neighbors said as it ended. (It was, indeed.) Then, nearly ten-foot-tall puppets alongside the stage were revealed as Alva Puppet Theatre and performed their puppet show, which included a singing portion and flipping of the tall puppets to reveal another puppet on the other side. Finally, Beverly Glenn-Copeland and his wife, Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland, closed the show. Elizabeth and her husband held hands and sang a ballad to each other: “So many moments of tonight have felt like church.”

The Speeches

Introduced by Anna Deavere Smith, Shepard shared her story of a decades-long career in the arts. “This is a homecoming,” she told the audience. “BAM played a critical role in shaping my shaping my vision and a process to my life’s work.”

The final moment we were all waiting for: Solange’s speech. “As I was preparing to write this, I thought about my journey into joy and how priceless the feeling is.” She read an essay she penned for Harper’s Bazaar in 2020 as a reminder to find joy, quoting a jingle she repeats to herself: “Doing the work sure ain’t pretty; it’s like tearing down and rebuilding whole damn cities.” Knowles thanked the audience for their energy and thanked BAM for being a “beacon of creation.”