Hammer Museum gala to honor Mark Bradford, Joni Mitchell

The Hammer Museum will fete Los Angeles visual artist Mark Bradford and singer Joni Mitchell at its annual gala scheduled for Oct. 11. The Gala in the Garden is a key fundraiser for the Westwood museum, which raised $2 million at last year’s event.

Hammer officials said that the couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski will serve as co-chairs of the gala. The event is also being chaired by Danna and Ed Ruscha, and Tomas Maier. Proceeds from the gala will support museum exhibitions and public programming.

Filmmaker Cameron Crowe is scheduled to give a tribute to Mitchell at the gala, and author Sarah Lewis will speak about Bradford.

Last year’s gala celebrated artist Robert Gober and playwright Tony Kushner.

Bradford has worked extensively in collage, among other media, throughout his career. The L.A. native received a MacArthur Fellowship in 2009. He has exhibited his work worldwide and was the subject of a career survey show at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, in 2010.

The artist collarborated with L.A. Dance Project in 2012 in a site-specific production at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

In addition to her prolific career in music, Mitchell has created visual art and worked in ballet. She is releasing a new book this month titled “Joni Mitchell: In Her Own Words.”

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT