MoMA invites you to a special celebration of the artist Wifredo Lam and the exhibition Wifredo Lam: When I Don't Sleep, I Dream, led by pianist and composer Aruán Ortiz, the Ballet Hispánico dance company, and poet Yaissa Jiménez. Over the course of the evening, these artists will evoke the poetic threads of Lam’s work by performing in and around the exhibition galleries.
Drinks and light bites will be available for purchase throughout the evening.
The event is free, and advance registration is required.
Ballet Hispánico New York is the nation’s leading Latino dance company and the largest cultural institution of its kind in the United States. Recognized by the Ford Foundation as one of America’s Cultural Treasures, the organization is a major force in contemporary dance in New York City, touring nationally and internationally. Under the leadership of artistic director and CEO Eduardo Vilaro, Ballet Hispánico serves as a catalyst for imagination, redefining how contemporary dance is seen, heard, and understood through its repertory, training, and community programs.
Yaissa Jiménez obtained her MFA from New York University’s Creative Writing in Spanish Program in 2022. She was a winner of the Salm Petry Continental Cup, Abya Yala, Copa América, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2021. As a performer, Jiménez has presented her poetic shows in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Belgium, and Spain, and across New York City at venues such as MoMA, PAC, BAM, IATI Theater, and El Puente, among others. Her performance Blindada: Poems of Protection, a poetic show combining drums and dance, has been presented at Harvard University, Wesleyan University, and other institutions. Her poems have been published in media outlets such as Forgotten Lands, the Los Angeles Times, and Periódico UNAM. Her most recent invitation from the Thyssen Museum in Madrid gave her the opportunity to present her latest poetic production, Moyetaje.
Cuban composer, pianist, and violist Aruán Ortiz has been an active voice in international creative music for over two decades. A Guggenheim Fellow (2024) and a Goddard Lieberson Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2025), he has released more than 15 albums as a leader and appeared on over 30 recordings. All About Jazz has written that Ortiz “is not simply expanding the possibilities of jazz; he is redefining what diasporic music can be in the 21st century,” in reference to his postmodern, multidisciplinary experimental work rooted in Afro-diasporic traditions across the Americas and reimagining oral and generational legacies in a contemporary framework. As a composer, Ortiz’s work spans a wide range of formats, including jazz ensembles, orchestras, dance companies, chamber groups, and feature films.
Accessibility
The Ronald S. & Jo Carole Lauder entrance at 11 W 53rd Street is wheelchair accessible and has a power-assist door. Gallery stools, wheelchairs, and rollators are available by request at all Museum entrances, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Accessible and all-gender restroom is located outside of Gallery 3 East near the escalators.
For more information on accessibility at MoMA please visit moma.org/Visit/Accessibility.
Major funding is provided by the Agnes Gund Education Endowment Fund for Public Programs, the Jeanne Thayer Young Scholars Fund, and the Annual Education Fund.