Taylor Swift will take the stage at the 2026 Academy Museum Gala, where she will perform at an evening honouring Charlize Theron, Colman Domingo and filmmaker-composer John Carpenter.
According to Billboard, the performance comes as Swift campaigns for Oscar recognition for her song “I Knew It, I Knew You”, written for the Toy Story 5 soundtrack. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced her appearance on Thursday, 8 October, just nine days before the gala on 17 October.
“Taylor is an extraordinary talent whose work resonates around the world,” Amy Homma, director and president of the Academy Museum and Academy Collection, said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to welcome her to this year’s gala and look forward to her performance to close a wonderful evening of honouring three extraordinary filmmakers and supporting the Academy Museum’s mission to celebrate and preserve cinema,” Homma added.
The event will mark the sixth annual Academy Museum Gala. Last year’s ceremony honoured Penélope Cruz, Bowen Yang, Walter Salles and Bruce Springsteen, who also performed.
Swift’s “I Knew It, I Knew You” has topped the Billboard Hot 100 and continues to attract attention in the race for the Academy Award for best original song. She performed the track at the world premiere of the animated film in June. In August, she also included it in a piano mash-up with “August” and “All Too Well” during an appearance at the Grammy Museum.
Swift may perform the song again at the gala as part of her “For Your Consideration” campaign. However, she also has four newly released tracks from The Life of a Showgirl to choose from.
At the end of September, the singer released four bonus tracks from the album, which has spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. They include “Patient Zero”, which also topped the Hot 100, alongside “Pink Clouding”, “Babylon” and “Cleveland!”
