At a time where arts education in schools is being cut and New York City is in a major housing affordability crisis, institutions like the Met Gala should shift their charitable contributions toward the city that hosts them.

The Met Gala hosted a variety of A-list celebrities, ranging from singers to actors to tech billionaires, all dressed by luxury brands to the theme of “Fashion is Art.”

This year, the Gala raised over $42 million, led by the tech sector.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez Bezos contributed a combined $10 million. A seat at this year’s Gala was priced at $100,000, and a table at $350,000.

Currently, all the money raised at the Met Gala goes to The Costume Institute, a collection of more than 33,000 pieces representing fashion from the 15th century to the present.

As of February 2024, however, only 33% of eighth grade students met the New York State Department’s requirements and guidelines for arts education, with 47% of schools reporting that their arts funding was “insufficient.”

Childhood arts education, like the type provided in NYC schools, trains the next generation of artists and needs to be prioritized by the arts industry at large if it wants to survive.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani chose to skip the gala this year, citing that he wanted to instead focus on affordability for New Yorkers. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg attended, but he has attended semi-regularly since 1998, so it does not seem like it was a reaction to Mamdani’s choice.

New Yorkers protested Bezos’ participation in the Gala with their own “Ball against Billionaires.” The ball was attended by Amazon workers, union leaders and celebrities including Lisa Ann Walter, who starred in “Abbot Academy.” 

At the event, Walter told The New York Times, “There’s one thing more powerful than a billionaire, and that’s a union.”

Other attendees spoke about how they have friends and family members working multiple full-time jobs just to be able to afford rent and food in NYC.