Need a change from happy hour at bars, bistros, riverboats and the other usual suspects? Stop by VCU’s Anderson Gallery for art-infused happy hours on Wednesday nights throughout June and July* and, in particular, for its “Gathering Clouds” event on July 31.
“Gathering Clouds” promises to be perhaps the world’s first happy hour at which revelers combine drinking with … quilting. (You heard me.) The big idea behind the project is that the gallery is crowdsourcing a quilt that will be made by happy hour attendees.
Between now and July 31, Anderson Gallery is asking Richmonders to take pictures of clouds. The gallery is uploading the pics to its tumblr site and then printing them onto fabric. During the happy hour, VCU grad student Andrea Vail will lead a group-quilting bee during which the cloud images become a quilt. At the end of the evening, there will be a drawing to see who wins it.
How to get started? First, check out the gallery’s tumblr page to see pics it’s already posted, some contributed by names well known in the city’s arts scene and some by regular folks. Then unleash your inner photographer and go take some fabulous, quilt-ready cloud shots.
Oh, and one little piece of advice. Booze and quilting needles can mix, they really can. Just be sure to drink and quilt responsively.
*Happy hours are from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. No Happy Hour on Wednesday, July 3. The events have a cash bar but everything else – live music, interactive programs and more – is free. Cheers!
