Have you guys been to an Up Late at QAGOMA before?! Last Friday Andrew & I spent the evening running around the gallery after dark wondering why on Earth we had never been to one before!
But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
‘California Design 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way’ is currently exhibiting at The Queensland Art Gallery and runs until February. What’s the gist of this exhibit you ask? All things design; from toys to furniture, from architecture to clothing. All made in California from 1930-1965. Why California you ask? Well according to author Wallace Stegner in 59′, “California is America, only more so”. Basically, the exhibition tells the story of how California was the perfect environment for modernism to flourish post the Great Depression & World War 2. For the first time in decades the people of California found themselves flushed with cash and seduced by the power of big purchases. California had always had a more laid back, outdoorsy culture and when you combine that with an exploding population ready to shop, you find yourself in the thick of a movement that changed design forever.
There is something for everyone at this exhibit. Whether you were born or raised during the period and are seeking a trip down nostaligia lane or if you are a design student with a love of all things Eames you are bound to find something to stare at for at least 20 minutes. It’s a fun and engaging exhibit with large variety of pieces. It really is good!
Factory Diaries Presents: Up Late – California Design from Andrew Watt on Vimeo.
And now back to Up Late.
For almost a year now Factory Diaries has been encouraging you to put aside your preconceived notions that art exhibitions are for pretentious cigar-smoking and whiskey-sniffing fuddy duddies. Art is for everyone and is essential (well, we think!) to a well rounded cultural experience. We can push and shove and host as many different and fun exhibitions as you can handle but we want you to explore all the exhibitions Brisbane has to offer. All of them!
No event rips down the barrier between 20-30 year olds with a sense of curiosity but a reluctance towards tip-toeing quietly around a cold, high ceilinged, cement-floored, echo-y building pretending they know a single thing about what they are looking at and the most seasoned gallery hopping art enthusiast. Up Late offers a completely different gallery-going experience.
As the sun was setting over Brisvegas we were greeted by two bubbly young things who checked our tickets and told us that a talk was about to start and later on in the evening there was a band playing. A band?! Rad. When we made our way through the doors we were pleasantly surprised. Instead of being faced with a silent room filled with people talking in hushed tones and glaring at you as your heels clacked along the floor, we were overcome with an odd warmth created by a sea of jubilant people sharing a laugh and happily snapping Instagram shots of one impressive looking car. It felt like home.
As we winded our way through the impressive-sized crowd made up of young hipsters, suits who just knocked off work, a few grandmas and a lot of your average 20- 30 year olds holding drinks and eating nachos, we got the lay of the land. Our excitement grew as we saw the band set up on top of the water pond feature thing at the bottom of the escalators in the gallery. We spotted various bar stations who were also offering food and ample seating for your tired feet.
We made our way into the main exhibit and were suddenly stopped in our tracks. The group of people surrounding the scheduled design talk by Jason Bird of Luxxbox was so large that it blocked the entrance to the next room! Very impressive, Jason! We lingered and listened to the talk for a while but REALLY wanted to keep exploring the amazing exhibition so one of the lovely security ladies, who usually seem a little intimidating guarding the corner of each exhibition room, directed us through the exhibition’s exit with a bright smile so we could keep enjoying the event, just backwards. Thank you kind security lady! I’ll be sure to send you a sweet smile next time around instead of awkwardly avoiding your gaze.
From here we skipped and meandered from piece to piece and giggled at the Mattel Barbie commercials from the 60s and lounged on glorious arm chairs. We snapped a couple more Instagram photos and fell in love with a design period we hadn’t really been exposed to before.
Then we got hungry.
We decided to nip out to the courtyard and grab some nachos and a drink. We enjoyed sitting outside amongst an enthusiastic crowd listening to DJ Scorpio do his thing. There is something ever so relaxing about enjoying a snack and beverage under the stars with some tunes playing.
Speaking of tunes, it was band time!
We were pleasantly surprised that the musical act of the evening was Brisbane’s own Cub Sport. If you are a Triple J listener I can guarantee you have heard this diddy. (Told you!) These guys took the stage in a gracious manner and held an impressive crowd for the duration of their set! These energetic, indie pop masterminds will be playing at Valley Fiesta this Friday if you are keen! If you’re busy, don’t stress, you can buy their new EP here for a crisp fiver!
Oh and I almost forgot! There is a wicked pop up shop at this exhibition! Filled to the brim with books, design novelty gifts and 1950s throwbacks. Searching for some rad Christmas pressies? I’d definitely have a peak.
Seriously guys, Up Late is awesome. It’s a fun, chilled out and entertaining. There’s art, there’s music and there is snacks. I don’t know about you but that sounds like the perfect Friday night to me! There are four more Up Late events for 2013 so get in quick!
Wanna see how much fun we had? Check out the video above that Andy made!
P.S I feel the need to disclose this was NOT a sponsored post. We just really freaking love Up Late!
Post written by Tash C. Video shot & edited by Andy Watt. Photographs taken on Tash C’s iPhone & edited with VSCO.
