The warehouse was dark and slightly foggy. But the bar was open and a photographer took photos anyway.
On Friday, the crowd followed the White Rabbit in Brooklyn for the Net Gala, a chic tech answer to the Met Gala. The event’s theme was internet surveillance, prompting attendees to dress in black, some dazzling in Schiaparelli. Think “Matrix meets Mugler“, a commentary on growing up in the age of the Internet, a celebration of culture through art, fashion, music and of course technology.
Guests took photos on black steps before heading upstairs, where the show’s theme really emerged: a camcorder hooked up to a vintage television recorded the event in real time. A confessional with a handheld digital voice recorder allowed attendees to reveal secrets, while a generative artwork reflected the movements of passing guests. Outside, Rico Nasty blared from the speakers while artist Heno releasing new music blared through the VR headsets that transported you into the metaverse.
The Net Gala was hosted by the social collective Boys Club, a new media company best known for its podcasts, newsletters, events and magazines. It describes itself as “chronically online and tech-curious.” Deana Burke and Natasha Hoskin co-founded Boys Club in 2021 to bring women together to discuss new technologies and their impact.
The first Boys Club event was held in a loft in Chinatown and brought together 60 people. More than 500 people attended the Net Gala, flooding the dance floor and accepting stickers that read, “I’m tired of being overly policed.” For this event, Boys Club partnered with Blockchain Lusko, a long-time collaborator Developed tools to help artists manage their creative projects.
The technology was a throwback to the 90s and early 2000s: vintage televisions, camcorders – and at the same time a homage to the future, with digital collectibles and virtual reality. Photo credit: Noa Griffel
Speaking to TechCrunch, the Boys Club said it decided to host a gala on surveillance to comment on the topic as a pressing issue in today’s society, while also raising funds for the Lower Eastside Girls Club. The Boys Club ultimately helped raise $5,000 for the club, which aims to help young women learn about topics like STEM and civic engagement.
Although Boys Club took the opportunity to poke fun at the issue of surveillance, it is actually a serious issue. From government surveillance to cybersecurity and hacking, the increasing digitalization of society has created problems that innovators are still rushing to solve. Just last week, TechCrunch reported on security flaws in phone tracking apps, the massive United Healthcare attack, and the use of hacking in war.
Boys Club said that “the general aesthetic surrounding surveillance is interesting and it felt ripe to have fun bringing this theme to life.” It also emphasized the importance of awareness.
“As we design a new Internet, we hope that the excessive collection, commercialization and use of personal data in Web2 remains behind us,” Boys Club said. His co-founder Burke doubled down on that point.
Artist Bayli co-hosted the first-ever Net Gala, which brought together stylish names from technology, fashion and music. Photo credit: Noa Griffel
“As we spend more and more of our lives online, we think it’s important to be much more aware of how technology interacts with your everyday life and the privacy compromises you often make for the sake of convenience,” Burke said TechCrunch. “Awareness is a priority.”
The Boys Club selected artists who could help bring the creative Internet to life, which meant collaborating with Heno for an interactive digital art installation, setting up a vending machine that dispensed digital collectibles, and finding co-chairs, who supported the mission. Bayli, an artist, co-chaired the event and praised The Net Gala for “championing women-led tech and crypto companies.”
“Where else can you fund such a cool mix of art, fashion and technology, all rolled into one fabulous event,” Bayli told TechCrunch. “Seriously, so many great brains in one place.”
The visitors were also enthusiastic about the party. Jeheli Odidi, a creative director, loved the way the party brought together different sides of New York. Odidi emphasized that in addition to “art boys and music people” there were also “tech girlies” and everyone seemed uncomplicated and approachable. Musician TS Rose told TechCrunch it’s important to hold events like this to “bring all kinds of people together to get our creativity going.”
“Programmers, musicians, designers, seeing how we can integrate each other’s talents and all these new technologies into our projects. “These spaces create magic,” Rose said.
The Boys Club said the Net Gala will become an annual event and will return next year. This gives the first Friday in May a chic new meaning.