Have you ever wanted to attend an event but were afraid of going alone? The U’s “The Party Kickoff,” sponsored by the College of Fine Arts and powered by the Arts Pass has got you covered. Throughout the year, The Party will provide information for upcoming art events that are free or mostly free to registered U students with their UCards. Everyone is invited to take advantage of these artful opportunities: the more, the merrier.
“The Party” held its kickoff event on Sept. 4 from 8 to 11 p.m. inside the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Since the first 200 people in UMFA’s doors were promised free swag, the line to enter UMFA was long before 8 p.m. Once inside UMFA, attendees were required to show their UCards before having the option to take pictures with friends, both people they knew before the event as well as those they may have met in line. Few missed this opportunity to make use of the assortment of props to create funny photos.
All of the real fun, however, lay beyond the booth inside the main open area of UMFA, below artist Tony Feher’s pink streamer display. Anyone who has been in the museum knows how quiet it typically is. Speaking seems to be discouraged there: Whether justified or not, it always feels like the slightest noise will cause a furious librarian-type figure to furiously rush in, shushing everyone in their path. At the Kickoff, however, the museum was far from quiet. The deep bass of the DJ’s music pounding throughout the museum felt almost sacrilegious inside the usually near-silent galleries, as did the plethora of snack foods and dancing attendees.
More than 200 people, the majority U students, got to engage with the museum in a way many people have not before. To further encourage students to participate in the museum part of The Party’s Kickoff, attendees were offered gift cards to complete scavenger hunts which required them to roam throughout the museum’s many galleries.
The dress styles of those at the event ranged from semi-formal to casual, with the majority falling inside the category of dressy casual, which is what the Kickoff’s hosts were aiming for. People seemed comfortable engaging in both the more party-like components of the night as well as the somewhat quieter art museum components, and most people seemed willing to meet new people and make new connections. Given the popularity of the Kickoff, the events throughout the rest of the year should only get better.