Reason Round Table: A weekly discussion group for thoughtful, curious people
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Important Programming Note: We'll be on the outdoor patio at Bosco's this week!
The Commodification of Art: This year's Met Gala raised a record $42 million, powered largely by Silicon Valley money, with Jeff and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serving as the event's main benefactors and honorary chairs. The backlash has been fierce. Protesters projected slogans onto the museum building, stashed bottles of urine around the festivities and the NYC Mayor, and several A-list celebrities, skipped the event. The Met's director pushed back, arguing that donors are necessary to fund the institution's curatorial integrity. Is billionaire sponsorship of cultural institutions a continuation of a long tradition of the wealthy funding public goods, or does it inevitably turn art into a tool for reputation burnishing? The Met is free to visit largely because of major donors. Does that complicate the critique, or make the power dynamic more troubling?
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/04/style/met-gala-jeff-bezos-backlash.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPgqVP_dXew
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bardenprisant/2020/03/25/the-commodification-of-contemporary-art/
https://www.npr.org/2026/05/05/nx-s1-5811032/was-that-the-worst-met-gala-ever