Alicia Keys & Swizz Beatz Receive Top Honors At Brooklyn Artists Ball

On Monday night, the Brooklyn Museum held its seventh annual Brooklyn Artists Ball. The elegant affair included a seated dinner reception honoring Alicia Keys and museum trustee (and Keys' husband) Swizz Beatz.

Attendees -- including Lenny Kravitz and Fab 5 Freddy -- dressed to impress, wearing blue as a nod to the museum's "Infinite Blue" exhibit. The event started with a cocktail party featuring arts and crafts and body painting on the first floor, where guests roamed through the Great Hall to look at the blue-centric art featured in the exhibition.

The dinner followed, as attendees made their way upstairs to the Beaux Arts Court. Above the podium hung a large circular light fixture with a neon-light center reading "Beyond," with a ladder leading up to the word from the stage. Guests sat at dinner tables -- which had ladders of varying heights rising from them -- as they were serenaded by a gospel choir and up-and-coming singer/cellist Kelsey Lu.

Leon Levy Foundation trustee Shelby White and Leon Levy Museum director Anne Pasternak kicked off the reception by rapping the names of all the artists in attendance. The duo shared that they were honoring Swizz Beatz's visionary scope of music and his dedication to supporting artists through the Dean Collection. Alicia Keys -- who was honored for her drive of nurturing communities and providing creative mentorships -- accepted the award, mentioning, "At this time in the world, art is the most important thing we can do."

After photo opps, the guests made their way back to the downstairs lobby to join a dance party hosted by Swizz Beatz. The producer took over the booth after DJ Runna warmed up the crowd. His DJ set included a lot of Drake, Robin S.' "Show Me Love" and Jay Z and Kanye West's "N---as in Paris." Swizz called for a Soul Train line in the middle of the action-packed party, shouting out, "Are you all about artists changing the world? I wanna see you dance all night!"

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