We’ve had nearly six months to see how great the art looks at the new Museum of Modern Art. At Tuesday night’s party for Sydney Pollack’s new film “The Interpreter,” we found out how well celebrities look against those freshly painted white walls and high ceilings. Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi’s building did not disappoint as a backdrop for Hollywood glamour. The celebrities – Naomi Watts, Ellen Barkin, Sheryl Crow, Rachel Weisz – dressed up accordingly. The star of the film, Nicole Kidman, honored New York with a chic all-black dress. MoMa’s lobby and atrium glowed in pink, with sea-green tablecloths decorating the tables. The only shame was how casually most of the guests were dressed. But that’s the mishmash of the Tribeca Film Festival for you: a little art, a little celebrity, a lot of filmmakers who don’t know how to dress for the red carpet.

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At least 600 women had fancy chicken salads for lunch this week. Half of them were at the Museum of the City of New York for a spring lecture featuring New York apartment spy Jamee Gregory and landscape designer Memrie Lewis. The other half were at the Mandarin Oriental for the annual luncheon of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Young Women’s and Families divisions.

At the museum, Elizabeth Tozer served as chairwoman, a role she’s taken on for 20 years. She not only selects the speakers but assures the presence of fresh faces in the crowd. The museum itself will be getting a fresh face in the coming months. An impending expansion designed by Polshek Partnership will add two floors of storage space and a glass-enclosed gallery – a project made possible by the museum’s president, Susan Henshaw Jones. Since Ms. Jones arrived at the museum two years ago, it has doubled the money it raises annually.

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The UJA-Federation of New York luncheon put the spotlight on mothers, with commentary on motherhood from Miramax executive Meryl Poster; theater producer Daryl Roth, and playwright Wendy Wasserstein. The chairwomen were Tama Bernstein, Jill Franco, and Allyson Wiener, all stay-at-home moms who hope to set an example to their children with their work for UJA-Federation. Ms. Franco and her 6-year-old daughter delivered gifts to children at the Henry Ittelson Center, a residential treatment facility for emotionally troubled children. Ms. Bernstein performed a generous act on behalf of her luncheon guests: When she saw there was no budget for flowers, she assembled the centerpieces herself by purchasing plants and silver planters (made of plastic) in the Flower District.