Jennifer Rubell is serving 2,000 lbs of ribs tonight

How does one even prepare 2,000 pounds of ribs? Adam Perry Lang of Daisy Mae’s BBQ — I met him through Mario Batali — has a cooker that holds 1000 pounds of ribs. I called Adam up and I said, I’m doing this project and I need one ton of ribs, 2,000 pounds, and the first question he asked was, “Is that the weight before or after they’re cooked?” He didn’t even hesitate.

Who are some of the expected guests? It’s a great mix of people and generations. Maurizio Cattelan, Cindy Sherman, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Opening Ceremony, Zac Posen, Celerie Kemble, Lou Reed.

Will your parents be there tonight? Definitely. And my brother Jason and his wife Michelle and my daughter are coming too.

What was it like growing up in a family of collectors? It’s impossible to exaggerate the degree to which art was the absolute central focus of our lives. We grew up around artists, curators and critics and we never had heroes who were anything but great artists.

Do you remember any in particular from your childhood? I’ve known Jeff Koons since I was nine, I was in love with Richard Prince, I remember all the artists. When I think of my childhood- Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, they were all there. I remember strikingly my mother coming downstairs and telling me that Andy Warhol had died. It was like a family member had died. I was probably a teenager.

Tell us where you like to eat in New York. One restaurant that I’m loving is Roberta’s Pizza in Bushwick. It’s been open for two years but it’s just kind of burst onto the radar. They’re actually coming on Saturday with chain saws to cut the apple trees we’re using in the Performa installation into wood to use in their woodburning oven. I’ve also been a consistent Indochine fan, it’s their 25th anniversary, and there hasn’t been a year in those 25 years that I haven’t been a regular. I used to go with my uncle.

Your uncle was Steve Rubell — are there similarities between you two, in terms of entertaining or otherwise? He and I were very, very close, and we shared an interest in social interactions. But I feel like my whole life is atonement for the velvet rope. I try to be inclusive in everything. He used to say to me, “I’d never let myself into Studio 54,” and I always thought that was heartbreaking, to create a place that he wouldn’t feel adequate for. When I was 7 years old the crowds would part for me at Studio 54 — I felt a little embarrassed. I just always had more sympathy for the people still standing outside.