About the Other Night: The Karen Gala

Photo: Kristine Bumphrey, Starpix

Oh what a night!

You don’t celebrate 36 years and a leader like Karen Brooks Hopkins with just any old party. You do it with dinner in a greenhouse, a champagne boat ride under the Brooklyn Bridge, a massive light show for all of Fort Greene, late night hot dog vendors, and a 2am dance off. And that’s not even including the main highlights of the night (Steve Reich! Mavis Staples! Rufus & Martha Wainwright! Illstyle & Peace Productions! Paul Simon! Laurie Anderson! The BAM Karen!). To paraphrase the guest of honor’s signature expression, the Karen Gala wasn’t a party, it was a crusade.

Duggal Greenhouse. Photo: Beowulf Sheehan

BAM Illustrated: A Karen Brooks Hopkins timeline

BAM President Karen Brooks Hopkins retires this summer after 36 years of service. Her career and many achievements would be impossible to condense into a simple timeline, but we've done our best to include some highlights, key moments, and KBH favorites in the following illustration by Nathan Gelgud.

We realize this is a tad hard to read—click here (or on the image) for a larger version ...or swing by the Peter Jay Sharp Building to see the much bigger original version hanging in our third floor hallway.