A while back I mentioned that at times the Contemporary offers some really unique events to the public. It is time for another one! Tomorrow night is the first of a three-part series titled the Playground of the Ridiculous. For three Friday evenings this summer people can come to the museum (free admission) for art, music, film poetry, and theater. This Friday night there will be a film screening of Metropolis, poetry readings, dance performances by Atrek Dance Collective, and music by STRIVE, a piano-driven rock-pop band mixing sounds of The Fray and Switchfoot. (I also heard rumors of Opera Singers in the bathroom). This series is perfect for a variety of people; those who want to experience art, as well as those who want to experience a unique night out in a different type of setting with new kinds of entertainment.

This is my fourth week interning at the Contemporary and it keeps getting better each day! I’m Katherine, the newish Public Relations and Marketing intern and I could not be more excited about working at the museum. Currently, I’m in a junior in college studying English and Art History. This summer I really wanted to get a hands on feel on what it means to work in a museum and I am getting more experience then I could have even imagined. From organizing press and reading articles about the museum to working events and managing our Facebook and Myspace pages, my interest in art and the art world continues to grow.

Before my internship, I had only learned about and visited museums that collected older art and I didn’t really understand contemporary art. But now I realize that contemporary art can not really be defined but must be experienced. Walking through The Front Room and the Main Galleries, I become entranced and so excited to view more, learn more and just experience more contemporary art. That is why I am so excited for Open Studios starting on July 19. I can’t wait to see all of the local artists and their works! I hope to see you out walking or riding the trolley around St. Louis, discovering all that St. Louis artists have to offer! 

Tomorrow evening the Contemporary will host Yawn Happy Hour, an opportunity to “unwind after work with an evening of art, music, and drinks at the Contemporary.” Events like these are always great because they allow community members to do something different. They can get drinks, listen to avant-garde music (performed by Yawn), browse through the museum and be social in a different, fun, art setting. Here is an article about Yawn Happy Hour in the River Front Times. You can also take a look at Yawn’s website.

Friday night the Contemporary participated in the Grand Gallery Walk. People walked (or took trolleys!) around the Grand Center Arts and Entertainment District, browsed through galleries, grabbed a bite to eat and took part in a “passport game.” If someone visited at least six of the institutions and got their passport stamped, they got to enter into a drawing for a raffle at the end of the evening. It was a perfect evening for walking around and looking at art.

Free Family Day was also this weekend…a great opportunity for families to engage in art activities together in a creative environment. From the look of the sidewalk this morning, the kids (and probably the adults) had a good time. The Contemporary offers a Free Family Day about three times a year, going along with each exhibition.

Over the past couple months I’ve been doing some work on the museum’s MySpace page and I have also created a Facebook profile and group. I am finding that there are so many things an organization can do with these two online communication tools. We currently use both to network with other organizations and individuals in the art world or who have interest in art or museums, to spread word to people about upcoming events at the museum (on Facebook we can even create event pages allowing people to write on the discussion board to ask questions or leave comments), and to share photographs and videos from events, programs, and exhibitions. These are also great places for us to compile all of the museums online communication tools in one place. And since the individuals who are signing up to be a part of our network are artists, art organizations, or have interest in art, these pages are also good for artists or event planners to get word out about their art or art happenings. If you’d like to take a look at the pages click here for MySpace or here for Facebook.

So if you are caught up on your Contemporary blog reading you are probably aware that we hosted a performance by electronic rocker Silverio this past Thursday. All I am going to say is WOW and let the pictures and videos speak for themselves. If you want to see Silverio’s performance, visit the Contemporary’s YouTube page. Click on our favorites and find four video clips of his performance here.

 
Silverio working crowd

Photo: Georgia Kotretsos, Courtesy: Boots Contemporary Art Space

 
Silverio rocking out

Photo: Georgia Kotretsos, Courtesy: Boots Contemporary Art Space

 
Laura Fried, Silverio, Paul Ha

Photo: Georgia Kotretsos, Courtesy: Boots Contemporary Art Space

The Dada Ball (the Contemporary’s biennial fundraiser) was almost a month ago. Can you believe it? I have some facts/updates about the evening I would like to share. We sold more than 370 seats for the dinner and auction (which constitutes for a sold out event!) and the After-Party gave way to the best attendance thus far. In all, we had more than 700 guests grace us with there presence that evening, helping us to meet our fundraising goal of $200,000. It was a great night and all of the support we received makes it that much easier for us to continue to serve the community!

Dada comes down…back to reality!

Silverio, an electronic rocker and a phenomenon in Mexico City and abroad, is coming to the Contemporary to rock his party music sound and deliver an outrageous live performance. According to his record label’s website, “This electronic party music sounds like it came from the Stone Age with kick ass live shows that are a total blast when compared with the insipid and boring shows of the so called cool electronic music scene.”

In collaboration with Boots Contemporary Art Space, we’re presenting Silverio on Thursday, April, 3. Silverio is represented by artist-run record label Nuevos Ricos which was founded in 2004 by visual artist Carols Amorales, composer Julian Lede, and graphic designer André Pahl. The label has an innovate approach that works as a platform to expose their radical ideas about performance, music, and show business.

The night of the performance will also offer music by MADBLAZIAN and drinks by Rolling Rock.

Tickets are available here.

It should be a wild time…check out the below poster advertising the event and our You Tube page to view a Silverio video clip and you’ll see what I mean. -mrq of camstl

Okay, it’s been a while since I’ve written and delivered a blog.  It’s fun times here at the Contemporary and there is much to talk about.  This week we have been exploring themes of violence with our friend Juan William Chávez who is currently occupying the Front Room with a Boots Substation and his lovely colleague Georgia… (ps - Keep messing with me Chávez and I’ll show you violence!).  Last Saturday night, the Museum was transformed into a hot pink DADA inferno where almost naked people mingled comfortably with the crowd, contortionists climbed the walls surrounded by fire, and many refused to leave.  The overall energy is high and thanks to Anthony, both good and evil people have been moving in to the front of the museum and staying for weeks at a time.  Last month people lined up to be slapped in the face and called it “fun” and giant topless Estonian women with huge wings scared children.  William Burroughs is now mentioned regularly at board meetings, liability waivers have been signed and our insurance policy is in constant review.  Like I said: good times; and there is much more in the pipe people!  Stay tuned.
Shane

First, thank you for all the community support!
And, well it is over (kind of). The Dada Ball and After-Party, the Contemporary’s biennial fundraiser, was this weekend and yes, it was everything it was made out to be. Crazy costumes, tons of people, desserts, drinks, and chaos (but in a good way) were all present. From what I could tell, everyone was having a blast; it really was a night for people to just leave reality and enjoy themselves.

Though it is over for our guests, that is not the case for staff, who were hard at work yesterday and will be hard at work again today in order to tally up our earnings, settle auction items, and CLEAN!!! You can tell how successful a party was by the giant mess it may or may not have left behind…let’s just say ours was a success.

I believe I will soon have updates on the funds raised, which, of course, is another huge factor on how successful Dada was this year. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos and some of the fab décor…-mrq of camstl

Decor!   
 
Behind-the-scenes