Scene City: A Selfie with Lady Gaga at MoMA PS1

Where does the globe-trotting art world go in the winter lull between Art Basel Miami Beach and the spring art fairs and biennales?

Many were at MoMA PS1 in Queens on Saturday night for an opening and party powered by its director, Klaus Biesenbach, and a lengthy list of hosts, including Lady Gaga, Cindy Sherman and Yoko Ono, though many of them did not show.

Hundreds of guests walked the corridors in hipster winter finery (mint-colored high-tops and leather leggings) stopping in the chill-out dome erected in the courtyard, with a D.J. inside.

At the museum’s restaurant, M. Wells Dinette, a private dinner had just wrapped for Wael Shawky, an Egyptian artist, celebrating his first solo exhibition in a major American museum. The show, “Cabaret Crusades,” tells the history of the Crusades from an Arab perspective through the use of marionettes.

Sheikha Hoor Al-Qasimi, the president of the Sharjah Art Foundation and curator of the United Arab Emirates pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale, had flown in from Delhi. “This month I will go to Berlin, Shanghai for the biennale, Khartoum in Sudan to see a curator and then Sharjah for the biennial I’m curating,” said Sheikha Hoor, who is also a MoMA PS1 board member.

Nearby, Mr. Biesenbach recounted his New Year’s spent in Havana to see a performance about free speech by the Cuban artist Tania Bruguera, who was detained by the police. A text message came in on his phone. “It’s Gaga,” he said bee-lining it toward the front entrance. “She’s been rehearsing for the Oscars with Tony Bennett, and she’s stopping by quickly to fulfill her duties as host.”

Lady Gaga emerged from a car wearing towering stilettos, thick black sunglasses and a platinum blond wig. She was accompanied by an entourage and a bodyguard. Mr. Biesenbach took her hand for a speed tour of the galleries, posing for Instagram photos with Mr. Shawky and his work. “Go to the exhibition and experience the magical world of Wael,” Lady Gaga wrote to her 5.2 million Instagram followers. “I did. I will be mesmerized for days and days.”

On the third floor, Mr. Biesenbach had converted his office into a V.I.P. room. Instead of a guest list, the museum guard worked on the honor system for those without a special wristband. “Are you friends with Klaus?” he asked politely before letting guests into the room, which had a bar set up in the corner, dim red lights and views of the Manhattan skyline.

“It’s so sexy in here,” Lady Gaga gushed.

Back in the gallery, Mr. Shawky, who lives in Alexandria, Egypt, stood by a giant glass case he had arranged with his marionettes, meticulous glass replicas of Crusade-era popes, rulers and kings.

“It’s funny their downfalls didn’t come from disagreements with other leaders or greediness to capture the best forts,” Mr. Shawky said. “It was about the pursuit of celebrity.”

“But I’m really enjoying all the attention here,” he added.

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