Taylor Swift to Perform at Academy Museum Gala Honoring Carpenter, Domingo, Theron

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced Taylor Swift as the performer at its sixth annual Academy Museum Gala, taking place October 17, 2026. Swift will perform as part of the evening celebrating the previously announced honorees including filmmaker and composer John Carpenter, two-time Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo, and Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron.

'Taylor is an extraordinary talent whose work resonates around the world,' said Amy Homma, Director and President of the Academy Museum and Academy Collection. 'We are thrilled to welcome her to this year's gala and look forward to her performance to close a wonderful evening of honoring three extraordinary filmmakers and supporting the Academy Museum's mission to celebrate and preserve cinema.'

Now in its sixth year, the Academy Museum Gala advances the museum's mission to celebrate and preserve cinema. Through the generosity of Academy Museum trustees and gala donors, proceeds from the evening will help ensure the museum continues to present world-class exhibitions, support educational opportunities, offer dynamic public screenings, and remain accessible to visitors of all ages. Gala honorees directly champion the museum's mission by participating in public programming around the event. Previously announced programs included Charlize Theron in conversation with the museum's Teen Council on August 22, featuring a screening of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015); and John Carpenter hosting four nights of screenings of his films, including Halloween (1978), in celebration of The Horror Show, the Academy Museum's new large-scale exhibition.

Rolex is the founding supporter of the Academy Museum and exclusive presenting partner of the Academy Museum Gala. The Gala is co-chaired by Tom Ford, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Spielberg, and Kate Capshaw.

The 2026 Academy Museum Gala Host Committee includes Jessica Alba, Judd Apatow and Leslie Mann, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Adrien Brody and Georgina Chapman, Jon M. Chu, Kirsten Dunst, Nicholas Galitzine, Ludwig and Serena Göransson, Regina Hall, Kate Hudson, Jessica Lange, Greta Lee, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Rami Malek, Demi Moore, Olivia Munn, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Questlove, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, Bird Runningwater, and Teyana Taylor.

Rolex has championed cinematic achievement through its partnership with the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and is proud to support the awards given to these three distinguished artists.

About the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

The Academy Museum is the largest museum in the world devoted to the global arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. The museum advances the understanding, celebration, and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible exhibitions, screenings, programs, initiatives, and collections. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Renzo Piano, the museum's campus contains the restored and revitalized historic Saban Building—formerly known as the May Company building (1939)—and a soaring spherical addition. Together, these buildings contain 50,000 square feet of exhibition spaces, two state-of-the-art theaters, the Shirley Temple Education Studio, and beautiful public spaces that are free and open to the public. These include: The Walt Disney Company Piazza and the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby, which houses the Spielberg Family Gallery, Academy Museum Store, and Fanny's restaurant and café. The Academy Museum is open six days a week from 10am to 6pm.

About Rolex and Cinema

Rolex celebrates human achievement as a journey marked by milestones, emotions, and defining moments. For more than half a century, the brand has partnered some of the world's most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to promote excellence and the transmission of artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present and future.

Through the Perpetual Arts Initiative, a broad portfolio of arts that extends through architecture, cinema, dance, music, literature, theatre and visual arts, the brand confirms its long-term commitment to global culture.

The company has had close ties with the film industry for decades, its watches playing a role in numerous films, including Oscar-winning masterpieces. Since 2017, Rolex has supported the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serving as Proud Sponsor of the Oscars, hosting the event's Greenroom, as well as supporting the Governors Awards, which recognize lifetime achievement and humanitarian efforts in the film industry. Rolex also sponsors Film at Lincoln Center as Official Partner and Exclusive Timepiece.

The company promotes achievement through testimonies such as James Cameron, Leonardo DiCaprio, Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Martin Scorsese, Ava DuVernay, and Jia Zhang-Ke. It also assists in the preservation of film history for future generations as a Founding Supporter of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, as a partner of The Film Foundation and through its support to the National Film and Television School in the UK.

Photo Credit: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott