The Evening Associates Board of the Art Institute of Chicago hosted its seventh annual Night Heist, this year a Tahitian-themed fundraiser to celebrate the museum’s newest exhibition, “Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist.” The June 30 event attracted over 835 young professionals who enjoyed live entertainment, themed cocktails from some of Chicago’s top mixologists and behind-the-scenes tours of the exhibit.
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The party began under the stars with a VIP reception in the South Garden. Amid lush landscaping and sparkling fountains, notable mixologists designed specialty drinks inspired by the life of artist Paul Gauguin.
Paul McGee of Lost Lake (a Logan Square Tiki bar) offered a cocktail of French apple brandy, banana and guava in a nod to the artist’s time on Martinique. Danny Shapiro (Scofflaw Group), Nandini Khaund (Cindy’s) and Laura Kelton (Sportsman’s Club), among others, also featured exhibition-inspired cocktails.
Two performance artists, colorfully attired as Tahitian dancers, mingled with the crowd, many of whom had dutifully followed the suggested “tropical chic” dress code by adorning their hair with exotic flowers.
At 9 p.m., the party continued in the Modern Wing’s Griffin Court and Pritzker Garden, where guests gathered for live music and performances by DJ Colour Vision and R&B/soul singer Brandon Markell Holmes.
Throughout the evening, guided tours of the “Gauguin: Artist as Alchemist” exhibit provided guests a unique look at over 240 objects on display there through Sept. 10.
Gauguin was an artist/artisan, and besides paintings, artwork in the exhibit includes woodblock prints, carvings, friezes, ceramics, marble sculptures and more. Highlights include a work the artist called “one of his best,” “The Dream (Te Rerioa),” an island painting from 1897. Attendees were also awed by “Earthly Paradise,” a heavily carved chestnut and pine cabinet decorated with symbolic figures by Gauguin and his protege Emile Bernard.
Adding excitement to the evening was a WildPictures crew, which was on-site video recording a BBC series with acclaimed British actress Miriam Margoyles, who played, among other roles, Professor Sprout in the film “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” She mixed and mingled with guests as the cameras rolled.
The event, co-chaired by Caitlynde Brancovsky and Antoine Jennings, raised $60,000 to support emerging artists’ exhibitions and audience development programming at the museum.
The Evening Associates is a group of young professionals, ages 21-40, whose mission is to support and promote the Art Institute of Chicago, the second-largest art museum in the United States.
Freelance writer Candace Jordan is involved with many local organizations, including some whose events she covers.
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