McGraw-Hill’s annual Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education gala is no stranger to the New York Public Library’s Bartos Forum. It has taken over the space for one night in September each of the past seven years—including the 21st outing on Tuesday night. The familiar venue has helped the event develop an identity, but it’s also forced McGraw-Hill vice president of corporate affairs Eileen Gabriele, producer Laura Breitenbach of LMB Communications & Events, and returning designer Carolyn Bakula to be especially creative in how they create the atmosphere.
Bakula's goal this year, as in years past, was to develop something that represented a complete contrast from the previous gala. The platinum anniversary of the awards in 2007 saw the room appropriately decked out in silvers, polished metals, and lavender lighting, so the approach for 2008 began with the selection of a warmer, organic color palette. "It started with the colors, but I'd been looking for a reason to use trees, so I thought of an autumnal forest," said Bakula.
And that forest solved one of her annual dilemmas: how to separate the areas for the cocktail hour and dinner, which sit under the same rotunda. "By using trees, I could build a wall up to 12 feet high and create a different environment within the small woods," Bakula said. "They work well as a divider because guests can see right through them, but at the same time, they can't cut through. It creates a different space without making either [area] claustrophobic."
Created by American Foliage & Design Group to Bakula’s specifications, the trees comprised laurel branches and deep yellow, orange, burgundy, and brown silk leaves. The full-size foliage resembled maple, birch, ginkgo, and oak—all species known for colorful transformations this time of year.
Bakula worked closely with the library’s new in-house lighting vendor, JKLD, to place amber and gold spotlights and project leafy gobos on the ceiling to complement the autumnal decor and create an aesthetic transition from the cocktail hour to the dinner. (Lighting is always the cue for guests at the gala to take their seats.)
A good 11 months out from the next gala, Bakula isn’t sure how she’ll once again switch gears with the decor, but she has noticed a trend. “If we look at the history of it,” she said, “it tends to flip between cool and contemporary to warm and traditional. I’ll probably head back in a modern direction next year.”
