Blockchain Week — UNGA Edition Appoints Lara Moreno to Lead Cultural Programming Across Its Ten-Day New York Series

The curator’s remit spans twelve events in Times Square from September 10 to 19, including BitcoinPalooza and the fourth annual Washington Elite Investment Summit & Gala — placing commissioned art and live performance in front of the investors, policymakers and founders who convene in New York for the UN General Assembly.

NEW YORK, August 24, 2026 — The Porter Brothers today announced the appointment of Lara Moreno as Curator of Music, Art & Fashion for Blockchain Week — UNGA Edition, the ten-day series they produce each September in Times Square through GlobalBoost.

Moreno’s remit covers the cultural programming across all twelve events on the 2026 calendar, running September 10 to 19. It is the first time the series has appointed a single curator with authority over the full program rather than treating each night’s entertainment separately.

The appointment reflects a deliberate strategic choice. The Washington Elite series has spent a decade convening capital, policy and emerging technology in the same room — energy, crypto, privacy, AI, space, and fashion. What the Porter Brothers have observed is that the deals and relationships that matter rarely form during the panels. They form in the rooms around them. Programming those rooms properly, with work worth looking at and performers worth staying for, is a commercial decision as much as a cultural one.

Under the new structure, work selected by Moreno will not be confined to a single evening. Commissioned and selected pieces will be installed across Blockchain Week venues for the duration of the series — carrying through the September 16–17 flagship conference at the Hard Rock Main Theatre, the September 17 BitcoinPalooza after-party, and the black-tie Washington Elite Investment Summit & Gala on September 18, now in its fourth consecutive year.

“We have spent ten years building rooms where serious capital meets serious technology. What we learned is that the room itself does the work — who is in it, what is on the walls, what is playing when people are actually talking to each other. Bringing Lara in is us taking that seriously instead of leaving it to chance.”

— Bruce Porter Jr., Co-Founder, Washington Elite; Founder, GlobalBoost

“A gala and a warehouse show are not the same audience, and I am not going to pretend they are. What I can do is make sure an artist’s work is seen properly in both — installed for ten days across Times Square, in front of collectors and founders and diplomats who would never walk into their gallery. That is a real opportunity, and I intend to treat it like one.”

— Lara Moreno, Curator of Music, Art & Fashion, Blockchain Week — UNGA Edition

From previous events

The energy Lara Moreno will shape — captured in Times Square.

Fashion meets capital — previous Blockchain Week night

BitcoinPalooza art — signature visual language

Commissioned art on the floor — previous edition

The 2026 series

Blockchain Week — UNGA Edition runs September 10 to 19, 2026 across Times Square. The 2026 calendar comprises twelve official events, opening with the Orbital Runway kickoff on September 10 and closing with the 24th annual International Day of Peace concert on September 19. The series includes a multistakeholder forum at United Nations Headquarters on September 14, the two-day flagship conference on September 16 and 17, and the Washington Elite Investment Summit & Gala on September 18.

Charitable mission

A portion of proceeds from every Washington Elite event funds adaptive sports programs for blind veterans and disabled athletes, including the Washington Elite Blind Hockey Initiative. The initiative has supported major tournaments in partnership with the Blind Veterans Association and at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, covering jerseys, ice time, travel and adaptive equipment for participating athletes.