MoMA PS1 kicks off its epic summer dance party series with queer nightlife icon Kim Anh

PS1's Warm Up will bring the heat every Friday night through August 16

For more than 20 years now the contemporary art museum PS1, so called because it’s housed in a magnificent old public school building in Long Island City, has played host to Warm Up, one of the best, most musically-diverse series of dance parties in town.

This summer season kicked off on Friday night — it’s the first time the party’s being held on Fridays — with a stellar lineup of New York City-based DJs, starting with Miss Parker at 5 p.m. and continuing into the evening with the Gatekeeper duo, Johnny Dynell and then the headliner, queer nightlife hero Kim Anh, who hit the stage at around 8:30 and kept the huge, happy crowd jumping until 10.

Kim Anh behind the decks (Photo by Scott Lynch)

Among the acts playing the courtyard in the coming weeks are Safety Trance from Venezuela, Easyfun from the U.K., techno legend Terence Dixon from Detroit, Emma dj from Paris and Cashu from Sao Paulo. It’s a diverse lineup, and each night offers a varied musical experience as well.

Johnny Dynell (Photo by Scott Lynch)

“It’s exciting to put people on a bill that would maybe not play together in any other context,” Kari Rittenbach, an assistant curator at MoMA PS1 and one the organizers of Warm Up, told Brooklyn Magazine. “We always ask ourselves: Who hasn’t played in New York that could be interesting? This is an audience that wants to learn more. Warm Up should be about discovery. It’s a way to bring these exciting and inclusive cultures together in a really fabulous place.”

Photo by Scott Lynch

That said, it’s also about having fun and dancing your ass off. And though Friday’s party was, as expected given the work-evening start, a bit of a slow build, by 6:30 the courtyard was hopping. My advice: Get here early, check out all the current exhibitions inside the museum, grab some food from one of this year’s Street Vendor Project participants (the tamales at Evelia’s are excellent), chill on one of Yto Barrada’s colorful sculptures, drink as much as you want, then get up and move your body with all the other sweaty sexy beautiful people on the dance floor.

Yto Barrada’s sculptures make for a comfortable courtyard hang (Photo by Scott Lynch)

“I love getting to see the museum and then also having a dance party. I love a multifunctional event, with different kinds of culture on top of each other,” said Ridgewood resident Alex Riesberg, who’s been coming to Warm Up for about six years. “Spend time with the art. Spend time with the people. This is a really cool space to hang out. I love all the creative weirdos who come through. I love the people of New York!”

Photo by Scott Lynch

MoMA PS1 is located at 22-25 Jackson Avenue, just over the Pulaski Bridge in Long Island City, Queens. Warm Up happens every Friday night through August 16, from 4 to 10 p.m. This is an all ages event. Here are a few more photos from the day.