Pioneer Works 2025 Village Fête: A Night of Art, Music, and Impact featuring David Byrne
The 2025 Village Fête at Pioneer Works was a vibrant celebration of art, community, and the 50th birthday of PW Founder Dustin Yellin. This fundraiser rallied over 350 guests, including David Byrne, Maggie Rogers, Moses Sumney, Claire Danes and Darren Aronofsky to fuel Pioneer Works’ mission of uplifting local artists and the broader community. With our programming team leading the charge, the stage program popped with creativity, heart, and flawless delivery, and helped PW raise over $1.4 million for the arts.
Auctioneer Lucas Hunt sparked lively bidding showcasing hot items like a Prada handbag with an exclusive VIP experience, a 2-night stay at Caldera House, a Pioneer Works studio space rental, and bold artworks by Dustin Yellin, Nate Lewis, and Derrick Adams. The auction was integrated into a larger program featuring speakers including Pioneer Works founding members, board members, Former Artists in Residence, friends and family. These speeches were bookended by performances by Annie and the Caldwells and headliner David Byrne.
From the PW garden to the dance floor, the afterparty—co-hosted by CULTURED Mag—featured DJ sets by Fauzia and Chances with Wolves, unique installations, and vibrant activations that filled the space. CBD gummies, multiple open bars, and late-night bites kept the crowd buzzing.
Reflecting the unique, creative spirit of Pioneer Works’ Red Hook art space, we delivered a program that felt authentic, quirky, yet polished. In collaboration with PW, we ensured a seamless, engaging experience—leaving every guest connected to the venue’s vibrant energy and the mission’s lasting impact. To learn more, read CULTURED Mag’s exclusive story on the night here.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
