The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is throwing open its rooftop terrace on Friday, October 2, for Late Night 2026, the after-party that caps the museum's 50th annual Renaissance Ball. Doors open at 9 pm and run to midnight, with cocktail attire required and admission limited to guests 21 and older. Tickets won't be sold at the door, so anyone hoping to get in needs to buy in advance.
According to KGOU, tickets start at $125 for members of The Moderns, OKCMOA's membership network built for young professionals and art advocates, while other guests pay $150. The report notes discounts apply automatically at checkout, and tickets are sold exclusively through the museum's online ticketing system. Late Night 2026 promises cocktails, dancing, light bites, musical entertainment and an open bar, all functioning as OKCMOA's signature after-party and a direct fundraising vehicle for the museum's exhibitions.
A Golden Anniversary Gets a New Home
This year's milestone is scheduled at OKCMOA, according to Visit Oklahoma City. Event co-chairs Hannah and Stuart Hudson organized the black-tie dinner at the museum's downtown facility before guests head up to the rooftop terrace for Late Night.
Established in 1976, the Renaissance Ball is Oklahoma City's longest-running annual art gala and has traditionally launched the city's fall social season, per the same report. Proceeds from the ball fund the museum's exhibitions, film screenings and educational programming. Longtime arts advocates Annie Bohanon and Joan Payne were named honorary chairs for the 2026 ball following the museum's record-setting Art in Bloom floral fundraiser this past April, according to OKCMOA; Payne also served as presenting sponsor for that same festival.
Art Nouveau Sets the Late Night Theme
The aesthetic backdrop for this year's gala and after-party comes from The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art, which opens at OKCMOA on October 31. KGOU's listing states the touring exhibition sets the stage for both the 50th Renaissance Ball and Late Night, drawing primarily from gifts donated by Walter P. and Jean Chrysler. Organized by Virginia's Chrysler Museum of Art and circulated by International Arts & Artists in Washington, D.C., the show brings together roughly 120 Art Nouveau masterworks by artists including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt and Émile Gallé, according to the Chrysler Museum of Art.
The Chryslers' homes once served as private showrooms for their art holdings before the couple pledged their 25,000-piece collection in 1971, a gift that transformed the former Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences into the Chrysler Museum of Art, per the Lightner Museum. That collector history provides context for the exhibition.
Courting a Younger Crowd
The tiered pricing between Moderns members and general guests offers Late Night different ticket options. Late Night blends nightlife with the museum's major fundraising push around the Chrysler exhibition.
The party takes place on the museum's roof terrace. The Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center is at 415 Couch Dr. in downtown Oklahoma City. The museum can be reached at (405) 236-3100 or by email at [email protected] for ticketing questions. OKCMOA moved into its current facility in March 2002, with a $40 million goal anchored by a $14.5 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and support from more than 500 foundations, corporations, and individual donors.
A Museum Built From Two Institutions
OKCMOA's roots trace back to early civic efforts in 1910 and a 1936 WPA gallery, but the museum took its modern shape in 1989 when the Oklahoma Art Center and the Oklahoma Museum of Art merged following an energy sector downturn in the 1980s, according to Greater Oklahoma City Economic Development. Economic pressure on the local arts community pushed leaders to consolidate the two organizations into a single entity.
OKCMOA holds one of the world's largest public collections of Dale Chihuly glass and draws more than 125,000 visitors a year across its permanent collection, rotating exhibitions and independent film program.
