The BYU Museum of Art hosted its first Art After Dark event of Fall Semester 2024 on Friday, Sept. 20.
The museum’s Head of Education Philipp Malzl said Art After Dark is held once or twice every fall and winter semester to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit.
“It’s our marquee event to bring the community — and especially the student body of the university — to the museum,” Malzl said.
Friday’s Art After Dark: Party in the U.S.A. event highlighted the opening of the exhibition “Crossing the Divide,” a collection of American art from the museum’s permanent collection.
“This exhibition offers an opportunity to reexamine the permanent American art collection of the MOA in new ways,” Miri Kim, one of the museum’s American art curators, said.
The museum’s other American art curator, Isaac King, said the “Crossing the Divide” exhibition aims to highlight people’s different histories, cultures and experiences across the United States.
“We really wanted to make this feel like a lively, lowkey social event,” Malzl said. “A very accessible way of enjoying the art without having to feel like you need to be a museum buff or an art lover to enjoy yourself.”
The event attracted hundreds of people and included mocktails, photo ops and art activities, as well as the opportunity to peruse over 100 works in the new exhibition, all supplemented with live music provided by Jay Warren and Nate Waite.
“Music does a good job of settling people into an experience,” Warren said.
Sydney Tanner, a BYU student studying mechanical engineering, said, “We felt very artsy when we walked in." Tanner joked that her friend, Catherine Wright was dancing outside because she liked the music so much.
“I just think it’s a really fun vibe,” agreed Wright, who is studying special education at BYU.
Tanner and Wright participated in the line art activity as they talked.
Ashlyn Langford, student educator at the museum and illustration major at BYU, designed the line art that attendees colored in at the event.
“On the front is a painting in the exhibition,” Langford said. “And then on the back, there’s space to write and put a stamp to send to a friend and encourage them to maybe come to the next Art After Dark.”
Malzl and the art curators agreed students are instrumental to running Art After Dark and the museum at large.
“My student, Maren Kennedy, was really instrumental in coming up with these very creative, fun activities," Malzl said.
From putting up gallery walls to installing artwork to writing labels, King said students are heavily involved in the production of a new exhibition.
“Miri and I can’t take credit for everything,” King said. “We work with a lot of students here through the entire process.”
According to Malzl, more and more students are finding out about the MOA as they attend Art After Dark events. “I do believe it can really enrich their experience,” he said.
“We want students to take advantage of us as a resource,” Kim agreed.
Although Art After Dark’s primary audience is students, Malzl said, “Everybody’s welcome. It’s always free.”
“I saw all the Instagram posts about this last semester when they did it and I had serious FOMO,” Emma Griffitts, a BYU psychology student said. “I was like, I have to come this semester. I dragged my sister here and texted all my friends.”
The next Art After Dark will be a Christmas edition on Dec. 6, featuring the work of American cartoonist and author John Held Jr. and accompanied by a New Orleans-style jazz band.