"They will want to work with institutions and in large-scale projects for artists’ studios,” Ruby Sky Stiler and her partner Daniel Gordon speculate. I am seated in front of the two artists at an S-curved table at Powerhouse Art’s first-ever benefit, an Artist’s Dinner. I turn to Stiler, a painter preparing for her next solo show opening in November 2025 at Alexander Gray, and say: “I hope that you get commissioned to create a public artwork that you can fabricate here.” Earlier in the evening designer-turned-artist Benny Or exclaimed: “This is where my dreams will come true.”

The room is buzzing—everyone is excited about the newly opened PHA’s future, and, the performative dinner which extends a universe of beans Stimulus Interactiva ideated by artist Jasper Udink ten Cate. Yes, literal edible beans, the kidney-shaped vegetables that are seeds, and, as I learned during dinner, one of the few vegetables that nourish the earth they grow in. It is fitting that Eric Shiner, PHA’s president, would support Udink ten Cate’s choice to center beans as their nourishing quality reflects the mission of PHA—to nurture a diverse set of artists.