They’re a great idea, a win-win — and as far as marketing ploys go, super-successful: the “First Friday” program at the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Institute of Chicago’s “After Hours” series (no, we’re not suing for trademark infringement, we’re simply flattered). The museums, the patrons and the artists who signed on to headline the parties all agree they’re a darn good time.
“I just went along with some guys from work,” Jason Chaff says about attending an “After Hours” party. “I thought it’d be just OK but I had a great time. You meet a lot of other young people and you can learn about the museum. I’ve been in Chicago about a year and I kept thinking about going to the Art Institute but I just hadn’t had time. So this was a great excuse to finally go.”
Poet Li-Young Lee performed at one of the first “After Hours’ ” “After Words” poetry series last February and came away giving it raves. “(The people) engaged me after the reading,” says the soft-spoken writer. “They came up afterwards and talked and shook hands. It was a very nice event.”
And Brigid Murphy, who headlined a “First Friday” evening at the MCA, concurs: “It was a lot of fun.”
On Friday, the MCA kicks out its September edition of “First Fridays” to complement the traditional season-opening celebration in the gallery district. Headlining is idiosyncratic performance artist Mathew Wilson, with music by rock-folk duo The Twigs and street musicians 78 Cents and Fritz Legos. Party time is 6 p.m. and the MCA’s doors will be open until 11 p.m.
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The Art Institute’s season-opening “After Hours” won’t be unveiled until Sept. 19. The program will feature the Steve Hashimoto Group playing jazz in the McKinlock Court Garden, poetry by Chicago slam champ Marc Smith, and a 30-minute slide presentation called “Seeing Through Clothes: Fashion Statements in Art” with lecturer Jeff Nigro. (At the October party, the “After Hours” folks will give away a pair of round-trip airline tickets to Buenos Aires.)
Designed to lure young people into the museums, the once-a-month after-work programs play against all of the stuffy stereotypes that museums might conjure. Forget the dour-faced security guard who asks for quiet by the Grand Staircase at the Art Institute. For “After Hours,” a jazz band usually holds court there, making plenty of noise.
And remember the uptight docents who babble in art-speak during those sleepy tours of the art galleries? At the MCA’s August “First Friday” program, the sensationally sequinned Milly Mae Smith (aka Murphy) skipped right over the Alexander Calders and Anselm Keifers to talk about the aesthetic values of the bright red fire extinguishers during her riotous art tour.
“We draw about 1,700 people an evening and that’s our goal,” explains Eileen Harakal, director of public affairs at the Art Institute. “More than that and we have to turn people away.”
In its first year, “After Hours” (which celebrated its anniversary in May) brought in more than 20,000 people. The program’s gotten so popular that the museum is now trying to emphasize advance ticket sales. (They’re now available through the Chicago Place concierge desk as well as the museum.)
“We’ll cut back promotions a little in our second year,” says Harakal. Initially, the museum did outreach through ads in the Reader, Chicago Social, Outlines, WXRT and WBEZ. “But the program’s well-known and we want it to be self-sustaining.”
Besides, Harakal admits with a chuckle, there really is a potential problem with overcrowding. “For our one-year anniversary last May, the Mighty Blue Kings drew about 4,000 people, and that really was uncomfortable,” she says.
It hasn’t gotten quite that dramatic at the MCA’s “First Fridays,” but that may be for just two reasons: the program just kicked off in July and the space for the party’s a little roomier. At the MCA, “First Friday” revelers can step out to the gardens for fresh air or a smoke.
“In July, we drew 650 people,” says Kevin Consey, the MCA’s executive director. It was the first “First Friday” ever, the headliner was Liquid Soul, it was the 4th of July weekend and barely any advertisement had been sent out. But a month later, “Brigid drew 1,750 people,” Consey says, barely able to contain his glee. “Were we stunned? You could say we were extremely pleased.”
So far, the “First Fridays” appear a little looser than the “After Hours” parties, and a tad more racially mixed. But “After Hours,” having targeted gays and lesbians through some of its advertisement, appears to draw a slightly gayer crowd. Both programs attract young professionals in their 20s and 30s.
“It’s a casual setting although people dress quite nicely,” says Harakal. “I think we’ve even had an engagement come from the program — but it’s not a singles gathering. Couples are welcome. People come in groups of three and four and more.”
“We want to be able to extend the accessibility of the museum by being open in an after-work environment,” Consey explains. “We want to create an environment where one can relax and unwind, a social as well as a cultural environment. And, frankly, it makes great sense from the point of audience building.”
But don’t the artists brought in for these parties — so far, mostly saloon poets and performance artists who usually play the kinds of venues most typical museum patrons wouldn’t be caught dead in — feel co-opted by these larger institutions?
“Co-opted is the wrong word,” says Michael Warr, who, with Reginald Gibbons, inaugurated the “After Words” series. “But I think there’s no question that (this series) wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t of interest to the Art Institute.”
That’s OK by him, though — a sentiment expressed by every artist contacted for this article. “The resources that the Art Institute brings to bear are phenomenal,” says Warr. “Sure, I’d like to see the honorarium increase, but that comes with time. You have to give a little to get a little, and I think it’s important, if you want to get into different places, different communities, like I do, that you go there. I’m just as comfortable reading at the old Get Me High lounge as at the Universite de Paris. There’s no way I’m not going to go read at the Art Institute of Chicago.”
Both programs include tours of the museum, with an emphasis on the permanent collections instead of special exhibitions, and much hawking of the benefits of museum membership.
“Of course we want these people to become members,” says Consey. “That’s the goal. We currently have approximately 12,450 members — it’s the largest membership of any contemporary art museum in North America.”
The Art Institute boasts 150,000 members — more any than other art museum of any kind in the country — but the “After Hours” program is important because it’s designed to attract a new audience.
“At one time, the typical Art Institute member would have been a 45-year-old woman, but it’s getting younger,” says Harakal. “Programs like `After Hours’ are definitely working. We sell memberships right there, on the spot, and we’ve exceeded all goals.”
When asked how these programs could be so successful at a time when there are so many reports that the arts audience is getting older and shrinking, Consey out and out scoffs. “Listen, we know Chicago pretty well — it’s a town that continues to have its population revitalized with younger people. There are universities here and major corporations. This has always been a traditional training ground for multinational companies. I’m no marketing whiz, but this ain’t rocket science.”
The After Hours date book
Friday, 6 to 11 p.m., “First Friday,” Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Ontario St. Call 312-280-2660 for more information about the “First Friday” season. The museum is wheelchair accessible.
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Sept. 19, “After Hours,” Art Institute of Chicago, Michigan Avenue and Adams Street. Call 312-443-3600 for hours and other information about the program. The Art Institute is wheelchair accessible.