The Addison Gallery of American Art hosted a “Night at the Addison: reCOLLECTion,” offering students a new way to explore the Addison and the art inside. Taking place on March 24, the two-hour event allowed students to explore the exhibits through a scavenger hunt, participate in “pop-up” talks, write a “time capsule” letter to their future selves, take polaroid photos, and enjoy refreshments.
Jaylen Daley ’25 attended the event and commented on what he discovered within the walls of the Addison. He appreciated that the gallery was making efforts to encourage students — who might not often visit — to learn about the art exhibits.
“I feel like it was a great way to reach out and really see the gallery as a fun place to be and to explore what art means to a person. I’m a person who goes to the gallery for fun sometimes; one time I visited and [Head of School] Dr. [Raynard] Kington was there, and he talked about how he visits regularly but there aren’t normally a lot of students there… I know everytime I visit, there are some pieces of art that just take my breath away,” said Daley.
Another attendee, Daniel Rosenstrauch ’24, commented on how the Addison presented pieces of art that he could emotionally connect with. However, he thinks his experience could have been enhanced by having student tour guides who could present the art pieces and explain their history.
“I don’t generally love abstract art but I found the pieces to be a lot more interesting and moving… I also like the fact that they had talks so it was more than just coming to see the Addison plus food, but I think having student tour guides would have been fun. Having someone to show you the key pieces of the exhibit and tell you about the artist would make the experience even more special,” said Rosenstrauch.
Amber Chou ’24, who participated in the scavenger hunt with her friends, enjoyed being able to connect with her friends… She commented how the “open-ended” nature of the scavenger hunt allowed her to think more deeply about the emotions associated with art.
“I did [the scavenger hunt] together with my friends and it was really fun walking around the Addison, chatting with each other, and filling out the scavenger hunt. Especially because I don’t usually think about going to the Addison during the school year, it was a really good opportunity to explore something new. I think it would be great if there were more events like this, it was really fun and probably the highlight of Friday for me,” said Chou.
