The Portland Museum of Art’s annual summer festival of Contemporaries and Director’s Circle is exactly what it’s supposed to be – a good time. There’s no program, no auction, no fundraiser. Just drinks and tacos in a sculpture garden with a DJ and comfy chairs.
Three hundred art lovers gathered at the David E. Shaw and Family Sculpture Park in the Joan B. Burns Garden on the High Street side of the museum and enjoyed refreshments provided by Bird & Co. and The Black Tie Co. and music by DJ Jams Frrever. Sponsors included M&T Bank, MaineHealth, the Katherine Woodman Fund, Allagash Brewing Co., Devenish Wines, Lake George Distilling Co. and Leafsong Florals Design, among others.
“I love this party because it’s literally about bringing people together to have a good time,” said director Mark Bessire. “It’s a thank you to our members.”
The event was free for Contemporaries (who donate $300 per year) and members of the Director’s Circle (philanthropists who donate $1,500 or more per year), and for museum members it was $75 per person ($60 per year).
“I’m relatively new to Portland and this is a way to meet people and support the museum at the same time,” said Will Simons, who was walking with Kara Doucette and her new friends Brett Willard and Mercedes Lake.
Bright colors and patterns inspired by modern art were the usual fashion choices for the party. Jess Lauren Lipton went one step further, using epoxy to attach oversized googly eyes to her dress and her date’s bow tie. “It’s summer – it has to be fun,” she said. “And coordinate a little bit.”
Although the museum was closed during the event, members talked about the latest opening, “Jeremy Frey: Woven,” which features over 50 Wabanaki baskets from his two-decade career.
“I’ve been a long-time fan,” said Stephanie Brown, a Contemporaries member from Cumberland Foreside. “He’s so precise. It’s really impressive.”
The exhibition runs until September 15th.
Amy Paradysz is a freelance writer and photographer based in Scarborough. You can reach her at [email protected].
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