intrigued to hear that change was afoot.
PMA spokesperson Kristen Levesque phoned to tell me that a brand new group called the Contemporaries is defying this age-challenged stereotype. She described it as a social club of art-loving Gen Xers. It sounded promising, but could it be true?
Chief among my concerns: The group's $250 price tag. My 30- and 40-something friends have no problem forking over this kind of cash for a cell phone or a handbag. But a museum membership? I needed convincing.
So I called up Amber Degen, who is in charge of organizing the group. She told me "it was a little bit of a struggle to come up with the pricing." But she added "some people say $250 seems low. I think it's about right because we've had success in getting people to join the museum."
How much success? To date 180 people have joined the Contemporaries, which is just a small fraction of the museum's almost 8,000-strong membership roster. "Most of the people who have joined this group have not been members of the museum," Degen said. "I was surprised by the number of single people who joined the group. We've got a lot of couples and a lot of couples with young kids. Most are under 50."
Then Degen confided: "This is a group of people who are not interested in hanging out in the Old Port at the bars late at night. They're looking for intelligent, interesting entertainment."
Because my tolerance for the meat-market-bar-scene-as-evening-recreation evaporated around the time I got hitched, I can relate to this desire for stimulating social events that lack skanky dance moves, ogling drunk guys and vomit in the bathrooms. I decided to investigate.
So last Friday, my husband and I struck out through the drizzle to find out whether or not the Contemporaries could live up to the hype. Destination: the Kimball Court condo building on Congress Street.
We slipped in through a side door on Brown Street and were given printed nametags. (A little tradeshow-esque, but excellent for name recall.) Soon we were mingling with other party-goers, chatting with people we knew and striking up conversations with others we didn't. The people we talked with appreciated the chance to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the condo building and wander between 4 different open bar parties.
The soirée of more than 100 people included folks of all ages, but the young professionals dominated the scene. They also put their own trendy stamp on the event. The women were dressed in the latest styles (with a great selection of designer handbags, shoes and blouses on display). While the guys sported a more toned down look (oxfords being the shirt of choice), everyone was eager to dish the latest local gossip and talk about art and design.
We all checked out the 2 beautifully appointed condos occupied by the building's owners, Charlie Hewitt and Pat Nick. Both featured impressive art collections and generous spreads of hors d'oeuvres and wine. Upstairs an open house was taking place for the handful of condos still on the market.
Across the hall we entered the storage area for Whitney Art Works and then headed into the gallery to grab martinis and admire "The Other Biennial" show. Further down the hall, in the Addo Novo furniture store, we found more wine and bottles of imported beer. This high-style shop only opened days before. It offers an urban-chic selection of modern furnishings and accessories (including the much admired smokeless, wall-mounted fireplaces).
Translated from the Latin, the store's name means "to inspire, to make new." Sounds like it could be the motto of this new museum clique. Because one thing is clear: By inspiring interest in Maine's contemporary art scene, the museum is making hip new friends. And upgrading some of its existing members.
(I should know, because my check is already in the mail.)