22 Sep It’s Almost Showtime! Ready for the Party?
Anne and Mark’s Art Party 2016 opens in San Jose with a Gala Night this Saturday, September 24, and runs over two weekends through October 1. Today’s San Jose Mercury News ran a terrific two-page article on the Art Party written by Wallace Baine. (See “Anne & Mark’s Party is back, bigger than ever.”)
Baine’s article starts:
“Ten years ago, three people gathered around a bottle of wine and created an artistic monster… What was spawned that day is now a gigantic and uniquely weird bacchanalia that has unleashed the creative energy of Northern California’s visual arts subculture like nothing since the heyday of Burning Man.”
Right now, the artists are working feverishly to hang and set their artwork inside the large 34,000-square-foot building at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds (344 Tully Rd. in San Jose), which has become a huge art gallery for the event. Meanwhile, Wizzard and a construction team are building an immense outside entrance to the gallery that will transport you “down the rabbit hole” from San Jose’s “reality” to Wonderland—because “Alice in Wonderland” is the theme for Art Party 2016. Wizzard is a well-known Burning Man artist and several creations by various artists from last month’s Burning Man event in Nevada will also be present. (See “Wizzard and Gwen of Burning Man are bringing their art to Art Party 2016.”)
Wizzard prepares the “Rabbit Hole” entrance to Art Party 2016
Setting up the artwork
You can see evidence of the “Alice in Wonderland” theme everywhere you look inside of the giant exhibit gallery. Many of the artists have created works based on the event’s theme, however the majority of the art on display is not necessarily theme-specific; many, many themes are in evidence. Count on a wide variety of display art to intrigue.
Sculptures in Waiting
In addition to the artwork on display, you can count on seeing many live performances at the Art Party, from a wide variety of live music, to poetry slams and prose readings, fire dancers, and aerialists. Artists and performers from around the country are coming to the Art Party to celebrate. After all, it’s a party! There’s also the wearable-art Pivot fashion show on closing night. (See “The PiVot Preview: Elegant and Outrageous Fashions and Wild Wearable Art Presented at San Jose’s Historical Armory” for a blog about the preview fashion show held last July.)
As Baine’s article states, this event has been two years in the making. The last Art Party took place in 2014. That means you’re really not going to want to miss this year’s event, so here’s the schedule:
- Opening Gala Night, September 24
- Gallery Viewing, September 25 and 30, and October 1 (Other days to be announced)
- Closing Event Bash and Pivot Fashion Show, October 1
You can purchase tickets here.