The Museum of Modern Art's Junior Associates, a group that curates programming for young patrons, were looking for a way to expand their audience. So when the artists they work with kept talking about music, they asked them to DJ a new series of dance parties dubbed MoMA MiXX.
"We organize a lot of events throughout the year, most are educational in nature," said Junior Associates manager Angela Goding. "But in all of these studio visits with artists, one thing that's emerged in the programming is that the subject so often turns to music."
In her educational programming, Goding has seen artists wax nostalgic about songs that inspired them and even, on one occasion, pull out a guitar. Since the Junior Associates were already looking for an opportunity to take advantage of MoMA's atrium for a late-night party, artists as DJs offered a unique vehicle to set a new series in motion.
Goding turned to Flavorpill to promote the event. The online cultural calendar had great success growing an audience for a similar series of concerts at the American Museum of Natural History and complemented MoMA's own mailing lists and publicity methods.
Nearly 1,000 turned out—and payed the $75 cover charge—for Saturday's trial run, when multimedia artist Derrick Adams and painter Mickalene Thomas spun tunes for guests before Hercules and Love Affair DJ Andy Butler took over.
"DJing is an art unto itself; there's a skill. And we gave the artists complete freedom, but we still wanted a professional DJ to come in and close out the evening," Goding said. "The music that they chose ended up complementing Andy Butler well."
The Junior Associates have already announced plans for a second and third MoMA MiXX in January and April of of 2010.
