Toning down the sensation that has become the Triton Museum of Art’s Night @tritonmuseum events, the museum launched its Lounge @tritonmuseum on April 17.
Switching the event from a Thursday to Friday night, Lounge @tritonmuseum was inspired by last month’s Night @tritonmuseum where, in addition to snacks, a lounge with alcoholic beverages and games was introduced.
“We just really wanted to keep everything low–key because we had the celebration last week and the gala coming up,” said Preparator Bryan Callanta. “At the last Night @tritonmuseum event, we experimented with the lounge and people really liked it with the lights turned down and having some music and some art to do.”
While no art dice were in sight at Friday’s event, Callanta introduced a new, retro activity – video games. But, no one was playing the latest Grand Theft Auto or Call of Duty. No, for Lounge @tritonmuseum, guests took a trip back to the 1980s and 1990s, with a station set up for Mortal Kombat 3, a second for the original Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt and a third for Mario Kart. The games, while available for everyone to play, were a nostalgic experience for the 20– and 30–something crowd the evening events target.
In addition to classic video games, DJ Juaning Blaze kept the energy high while David Mejia drew caricatures and Jojo Perea drew mandalas on skateboards.
Replacing the usual candy and snack bar was another new debut – pancakes. A mini pancake bar with Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate syrup, raspberry and other fixings was available, and while the last Night @tritonmuseum had an adult hot chocolate bar, the Lounge @tritonmuseum had a do–it–yourself Bloody Mary bar for $7, with banana peppers, Sriracha sauce, pickles, lemon wedges, celery salt, cayenne pepper, cocktail onions, garlic olives, celery, Tobasco and other hot sauces, Worchester sauce, pimentos and every carnivore’s favorite, bacon. Beer, wine, whiskey and Screwdrivers were also available for the less adventurous, with all proceeds going to support the museum’s art education program.
While Night @tritonmuseum usually has a handful of artists demonstrating and teaching guests how they create their work, Lounge @tritonmuseum had just two artistic endeavors, coloring and Perler Beads – plastic beads placed on pegboards and ironed to create coaster–like creations.
“We were just looking at the video games and the retrospect, and it’s kind of like pixel art and where people can make their own Mario character,” Callanta said.
Callanta said Lounge @tritonmuseum is a supplement to Night @tritonmuseum, which will return later this year.
The Triton Museum of Art will launch its next art history series, where Chief Curator Preston Metcalf will explain the secrets of how various museums obtained their art collections, on Thursday, April 30 at 1505 Warburton Ave. Admission for the six–week lecture series is $85 for members and $105 for non–members. Drop in fee is $20 per lecture.
The museum is also holding its Golden Gala, the museum’s largest fundraiser of the year on Saturday, May 2. At the gala, art collectors will have the opportunity to bid on unique, original art, including a piece donated by Consuelo Jimenez Underwood. Tickets are $160 and available for purchase through www.tritonmusuem.org.
