The Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University held its first benefit gala in over twenty years in New York City on May 12, 2025. The event honored Lizbeth Krupp, longtime Chair of the museum's Board of Advisors, and acclaimed artist Hugh Hayden, whose major survey "Hugh Hayden: Home Work" is currently on view at the museum. Co-chaired by Sara Friedlander and Abigail Ross Goodman, the gala raised over $900,000 toward a new $2 million Exhibition Endowment Fund, seeded by a lead gift from Krupp, to support future contemporary art exhibitions.
This gala marks a significant milestone for the Rose Art Museum, signaling a renewed commitment to ambitious fundraising and curatorial independence. The Exhibition Endowment Fund ensures the museum can continue its legacy of groundbreaking shows—such as the first U.S. museum exhibition on video art in 1970 and the U.S. Pavilion commission for the 2017 Venice Biennale—while safeguarding curatorial freedom for generations to come. The event also underscores the museum's role as a vital center for contemporary art within Brandeis University and the broader New England arts community.