Tuesday, May 24, 2011
It's the last Friday of the month — time for ARTAfterDARK at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, a monthly art party held on the grounds of the Honolulu museum. The video shows last month's party, a nod to 80s-era hip-hop. (This Class of '90 grad was pretty stoked.)
Herewith, the Top 5 Reasons you gotta go if you're in town — the party returns every last Friday, January through October; if you miss it this week, make plans:
1) You can't beat the people watching. It runs the gamut, from the shorts + slippahs crowd to the fashion vics, from hipsters to new parents who brought the kids for a taste of family-friendly nightlife.
2) Creative themes. This Friday it's the Marrakech Express, with Middle Eastern music, belly dancing, a souk, an interactive art exhibit of the Moroccan Desert, special tours of the museum's Arts of the Islamic World and a gallery hunt that can win you passes for a private tour of Shangri-La, Doris Duke's grand seaside estate in Kahala, now operated by the museum. Not your average Friday night.
3) Bangin' music. Particularly against the open-air courtyards and elegant colonades of the museum — an odd, but winning, juxtaposition. The center courtyard is the scene of some epic dance-offs.
4) Perfect Friday night launching pad. The event always runs from 6-9 p.m., and while food is available, you'd hardly call it a "meal" — unless you're one of those hipsters trying to fit into those skinny jeans. By 8:30 or 9 p.m., when things are winding down, you can hit the restaurants and then hit the town.
5) Supporting the arts. The economy hasn't been kind to most of us; arts programs and museums have been especially hard hit. This event extends the arts into mainstream culture, giving them new life — or, elbow room in an ever-tightening financial landscape. It's $10 well spent.
