Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center has been holding its annual art and music party since 1984. The fact that a party consisting of local and international artists, actors, live music, food, and drinks with over 3,000 in attendance has escaped mainstream Buffalonian attention should come as a shock.
"We did not do it for about three years, which is why a lot of younger people may not have heard of it," said Polly Little, development director at Hallwalls.
The party, called Artists and Models: Unhinged, is not until May 31, which gives the public enough time to learn more about the local event. The artists' submission deadline was March 14 but the curatorial staff, including Little, will not be finished with their reviews until the end of the month.
"We have nearly 30 installations by different artists," Little said. "Some may involve performance, some might involve sound, and some of it would be strictly visual or projected imagery. We also have a live band stage and a DJ that does the later part of the evening."
The party will be 18 and over, which will give most students the opportunity to attend. There will be an open bar for the 21 and over crowd.
Artists and Models is a great change of pace from the traditional art exhibit in that any artist from any background can submit work.
"Sometimes it's students, sometimes it's professional artists, and sometimes they're 18 and sometimes they're 55," Little said. "It's a real range of people and artists."
What makes Artists and Models so unique and enjoyable is the kind of artwork that's on display. Proposals were taken from visual artists who used visual, performing and video arts as media for their work.
The review process, completed by Little and two curators, holds tough decisions that are not necessarily based on the quality of the artwork, but whether or not the artwork is probable.
"We look at what we think is actually going to work," Little said. "Sometimes people have really nifty ideas, but then you're thinking wait, how can that actually be constructed? We certainly want them to be varied so that people can have a large number of experiences with the art."
Last year, one artist simply had a room full of grain in which people took off their shoes, jumped in and rolled around. It ended up being one of the more successful installments.
For 2008, Artists and Models will be held at the Central Terminal in Buffalo for the second time in its history-the kind of place that lends itself to the idea of having all kinds of little rooms for the artists to present their work.
The event used to be held at a different location every year, but Hallwalls is simply getting their feet wet again after taking a few years off.
"We really liked working there last year," Little said. "If things go well again, it might just end up being the ongoing location for this annual event."
While last year's one-night-only gathering was a huge success, everyone at Hallwalls is expecting this year to be bigger and better. This party strikes a wide array of interests, so people who generally dislike traditional art galleries are not only encouraged, but also challenged to come and give it a try.
"It's more like an art circus," Little said. "We are actually working on having a burlesque show this year. A local tattoo artist is going to be air-brushing designs on people and then another in the same booth is going to be doing hand painting with brushes, kind of like temporary tattoos or body painting."
It sounds like the only things missing will be cotton candy and elephants. The party will start at 9 p.m. on May 31 and go to 2 a.m. the next morning. Tickets go on sale in the beginning of May and will be available through the Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
