Margaret Atwood and Glenn Ligon to be honored by the Hammer Museum

Blessed be the Hammer: The L.A. art museum has announced that “The Handmaid’s Tale� author Margaret Atwood and artist Glenn Ligon will be this year’s honorees at its fall Gala in the Garden fundraiser.

The annual event — a who’s who of arts and celebrity circles — is meant to honor “artists and innovators� for their creative contributions. In a statement Thursday, museum Director Ann Philbin called Atwood and Ligon “two brilliant and visionary artists whose work is both enduringly significant and tremendously relevant in our current moment.�

“Glenn has consistently created iconic art that critiques and explores complex issues of history, language and identity in America,� Philbin said. “Margaret has received critical acclaim for decades of writing, and is an activist who supports feminism, environmentalism, and social justice.�

Last year’s Gala in the Garden honorees were filmmaker Ava DuVernay and New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als. The event raised $2.4 million for Hammer exhibitions and public programs. This year’s event, to be catered by Lucques chef Suzanne Goin, will take place Oct. 14.

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How Glenn Ligon explores race in America

Margaret Atwood has a few wry comments about being a PEN Center USA lifetime achievement honoree

Art review: Glenn Ligon at Regen Projects

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