Chance The Rapper and Jason Moran to Perform at Gordon Parks Foundation Gala

Chance the Rapper and acclaimed jazz pianist Jason Moran are set to perform at The Gordon Parks Foundation’s annual Awards Dinner and Auction. The event will honor the legacy of Muhammad Ali and celebrate the foundation’s 20th anniversary.

Event Details and Proceeds

The gala will take place on May 19th at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Tickets for the event begin at $2,500. All proceeds from the evening will support The Gordon Parks Foundation’s educational programming, including fellowships, scholarships, and prizes for emerging creatives.

Honorees and Performers Reflect on Ali and Parks

Chance The Rapper, also an honoree for the night, expressed his humility at being recognized in a space honoring Gordon Parks and Muhammad Ali. “To be recognized in a space honoring Gordon Parks and Muhammad Ali is humbling. They told the truth through their work, and that’s always been the goal of mine too,” Chance stated. “The tribute to Ali is really about honoring that spirit and showing gratitude to his legacy.”

Jason Moran added, “It is an honor to work with The Gordon Parks Foundation because Parks truly understood the psyche of the musician. His sensitivity, not only with his camera, but with his ear. He knows exactly when to snap the shutter, which informs the way he composes his music as well. For Parks, the eye is also the ear, and the ear informs his eye.”

Additional Honorees and Event Co-Chairs

Other honorees for the evening include Elizabeth Alexander, John Legend, Henry Taylor, and Lonnie Ali. The event boasts a star-studded list of co-chairs, including Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys, Spike and Tonya Lee, Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, Anderson Cooper, Malcolm Jenkins, Crystal McCrary, and Raymond McGuire.

Foundation Celebrates 20 Years

The 2024 gala marks 20 years of celebrating the work of visionary photographer Gordon Parks through The Gordon Parks Foundation. Peter W. Kunhardt Jr., the foundation’s executive director, emphasized the importance of music in Parks’ life. “Music played such an important role in Gordon’s life — he was a musician and celebrated composer as well as a photographer and filmmaker,” Kunhardt said. “To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we are thrilled that Chance The Rapper and our inaugural Gordon Parks Foundation Music Fellow Jason Moran will each pay tribute to the legacies of Gordon Parks and Muhammad Ali by performing on May 19. They both embody Gordon Parks’ belief that art can change the world.”