| EVENT REPORT 04.14.08 2:19 PM |
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| Art Fair |
| The A.G.O. chose the theme of Vanities and Vandals for its fourth annual Massive Party, with 10 contemporary artists showing off projects that included grafitti and pole dancing. |
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The 1,500 guests attending the Art Gallery of Ontario's Massive Party fund-raiser at Muzik on Thursday got a taste of the night's Vanities and Vandals theme before even entering the venue. Outside the nightclub, spotlights drew attention to artist Dan Bergeron's graffiti art installation, which gave a dramatically different look to the typical red carpet entrance. Later in the evening, Bergeron and a troupe of graffiti artists went outside to work on the project in front of onlookers.
Inside Musik, seven other contemporary artists showed off interactive installation projects (while two sold their merchandise) amid rotating coloured lights, dry ice, and music spun by DJ Efsharp and DJ Whitney. "Each year, it's the artist projects that are fresh, new, and exciting," said Geoffrey Chown, A.G.O.'s manager of development and special events. "It's all about the contemporary art." Many of the artists, like Bergeron, participated in their installations. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | Artist Thrush Holmes's installation included turning part of Muzik into an art studio.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Artist Dan Bergeron's project mixed photography and graffiti art.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Artist Maryam Keyhani sold her hand-painted silk ties at the event.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | At Jesika Joy's installation, guests could have their makeup done. Part of the process was eating an orange slice.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Servers with bandannas and fake tattoos passed hors d'oeuvres such as fries topped with mayonnaise.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | One of the evening's themed cocktails was the Prima Donna, a mixture of lychee liqueur, vodka, white grapefruit juice, and lychee fruit.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Artist Dan Bergeron's graffiti installation dressed up Muzik's main entrance.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Artist John Sasaki's installation reflected the aftermath of a celebration, with a cleaning crew trying to vacuum up confetti.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Large reflective signs for the event included the names of sponsors and the theme.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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 | Part of artist Jesika Joy's project, set in the Stila Beauty Lounge, included women in black lingerie and paper bags whose actions were projected onto two large TV screens.
Photo: Gary Beechey for BizBash |
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Chown planned Massive Party with a volunteer committee chaired by Carolyn Lawrence and Som Seif. "We picked artists and musicians whose work we felt would work well with the theme," he said, adding that the event takes a year to plan. The committee's artist choices included Jesika Joy, whose installation inside Muzik's Stila Beauty Lounge included pole dancers dressed in paper bags, and Thrush Holmes, who turned a raised platform into an impromptu art studio where a group of artists painted under a canopy of coloured glowsticks. As the event progressed, an installation by the Female Fighting Federation saw women breaking out into spontaneous fights around the venue.
The Vanities and Vandals theme continued with the servers, who wore bandannas, tiaras, and temporary tattoos. Couture Cuisine provided champagne with strawberries, plus two cocktails—the Prima Donna and the Cherry Bomb—and three hors d'oeuvres, including artichoke tartlets and do-it-yourself s'mores. Later in the evening, Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes performed for the predominantly younger crowd.
The evening's main sponsors included Claymore Securities, Imperial Capital, and the Investors Group, along with media sponsors CTV, The Globe and Mail and Now Magazine. The approximately $125,000 raised at Massive Party goes to the exhibition and education programs at the A.G.O. The gallery's new Frank Gehry-designed building is scheduled to open in the late fall.
—Erin Letson
RELATED TOPICS
Art Gallery of Ontario, Imperial Capital, The Investors Group, The Globe and Mail, CTV, Now Magazine, Frank Gehry, Claymore Securities
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