The Young Collector’s Council celebrated its 20th (successful) year at the Guggenheim hosting a party on Thursday night—honoring over 140 art acquisitions (now a part of the museum’s permanent collection) and featuring a collaborative DJ set by Ryan McNamara. The YCC—a group of 20- to 40-something’s whose mission is to bolster the museum’s exhibitions, collection and educational programs—have built a renowned reputation for throwing exceptional parties (parties, which of course, bring with them a wide array of talent and an equal amount of critical praise). What this and evenings like this in the past have proven, is that these events are not only vital to the museum’s economy but necessary for keeping institutions like the Guggenheim current with the changing tides.

Ryan McNamara, who premiered “Battleground” (a Guggenheim commissioned piece of performance art which debuted at a YCC event in 2016), set the stage for Thursday night—where Frank Lloyd Wright’s dynamic architecture and the recent (and very fitting) exhibition “Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim” played vignettes to a series of performances with artists Kim Brandt, FlucT, Sam Roeck and Quenton Stuckey. What can be said, to summarize an evening of this caliber, is that there was never a dull moment. From the minute the audience hit the line out front (where performance artist’s acted as agents for entry) to the very last performance (where artist’s blurred the line between horror and fantasy), they are constantly being asked to question their perception of reality (finding themselves caught in the middle of a maddening ballet and a striptease).

The YCC has continued to successfully engage it’s core audience while, much like the current exhibit displayed in the rotunda, the series and council continue to “illuminate the visionaries—artists and patrons alike—who helped to establish the Guggenheim’s identity as a forward-looking institution.” Be sure to check out all the latest happenings, including events like this one, at guggenheim.org.