Arts & Draughts: A Winning Combination
August 9, 2013
By Jillian Owens
August 9, 2013
There are two things I feel I should be allowed to do whenever and wherever I like. One is bring my dog everywhere. Yes everywhere. The grocery store. Shoe shopping. Any restaurant or bar. The other is sip leisurely on wine. Anywhere. Anytime. 8am at the DMV? Heck yeah! At work? I’m sure I’d be more productive, and far less surly! At the museum? Why not?!
As luck would have it, the kind folks at the Columbia Museum of Art agree with me. No…not about the dog thing (he is a destructive chewer after all). BUT we definitely see eye to eye on the booze thing, even if it is only for one magical night every few months (It’s like Brigadoon for art-loving winos!). That’s when I get together with friends for a night of Arts & Draughts!
Don’t mind if I do!
What began as a clever ploy to draw in a younger crowd has become a clever ploy for bringing in an incredibly diverse crowd of young and old. The Columbia Museum of Art has found the perfect recipe for getting those people who would go to the museum, but don’t. Maybe they think it would be a stuffy and snobbish. Maybe they just don’t know much about art and don’t want to feel awkward. Or maybe they think a spending couple of hours at a museum just doesn’t sound very fun.
I attend a lot of art events around our fair city, and I usually run into the same groups of people over and over again. The fact that I can come to this event and see hundreds of people I don’t know tells me some clever person at the museum has figured out how to bring in an entirely new group of culture vultures! They understand how important it is to continue growing their fan base to ensure their future. Bravo!
Have you ever seen the Columbia Museum so packed?!?
Here’s how it works. You pay $8 to get in ($5 if you’re a member). For this paltry sum, you get to peruse the galleries, including the newest featured exhibit. You can even go on one of the Docent or Unique Persepective Tours if you aren’t feeling particularly self-motivated. The current exhibit is Found in Translation: The Art of Steven Naifeh.
Spoiler: This is NOT a Bill Murray/Scarlett Johannson Movie Sequel.
Beyond this wall, you get to see 26 large-scale geometric paintings and sculptures that blend Western and Eastern, as well as old and new.
Beautiful, no?
You have until September 1st to see this, so make sure you check it out!
Your $8 doesn’t stop there, folks! You also get to take a listen to some great local and regional bands! This session of A&D featured Brothers, Company, The Unawares, and Sans Jose – but the lineup changes every time.
If you have more than $8 to your name and all that gallery-crawling has made you hungry & thirsty, you can indulge in some fine libations from The Whig and a some tasty noms from local vendors like Bone In Barbecue, KC Hot Dogs, Paradise Ice, and Cupcake!
The Whig guys keep busy!
The only thing that saddens me about this event is that it no longer happens every month. But at least you now know what you’ll be doing Friday, November 1 from 7-11pm (planning for the future is important)! Go ahead and put the November Arts & Draughts on your calendar right now. You’ll be glad you did.
If you don’t go, the Dale Chihuly Chandelier gets it (not really)!
Jillian Owens is a writer, designer, motivational speaker, and eco-fashion revolutionary. A Columbia SC transplant, she graduated from the University of South Carolina with a BFA in Theatre and English. When she’s not gallivanting about, she’s busy refashioning ugly thrift store duds into fashionable frocks at ReFashionista.net. Jillian has been featured on The Rachael Ray Show, Good Afternoon America, ABC Columbia, Jasper Magazine, Skirt, Columbia Metropolitan, The Free Times, Grist, and NYC’s Guest of a Guest. She also reviews local theater productions for Jasper Magazine and Onstage Columbia.
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