Published: 06:00 AM, Thu Mar 04, 2010
'Alice in Wonderland' party at Cameo Art House Theatre
Tomorrow, the Fayetteville Museum of Art and the Cameo Art House Theatre will host a costume party and opening night screening of "Alice in Wonderland" from 6 to 9 p.m.
The Down the Rabbit Hole teen premiere party will take place at the Rainbow Room at 223 Hay St., with the film being shown immediately after the party next door at the Cameo at 225 Hay St.
The event will feature food, a costume contest and Guitar Hero. Admission is $20; proceeds will benefit the museum's education department.
"This is a unique opportunity for us to engage teens," said Michele Horn, assistant director and curator for the Fayetteville Museum of Art.
"This will give us a chance to piggyback off something (the movie) they're already interested in," said Horn. "And it lets us spin off additional programming."
Horn said the museum has had a successful history of drawing in teens as volunteers, but not as much luck programming art exhibits for them.
"Teens have always been a great source of volunteer support for us," said Horn. "But we've never had a real concentrated effort at providing them with enlightenment and enrichment."
Some familiar faces may greet Horn at the teen party.
"All the 2, 3 and 4-year-olds I taught when I first got here are now teens," said Horn. "So it's great to see them come back."
It's those kinds of results, Horn said, that proves, in her mind, that if you engage and involve children with art at a young age, that they'll stick around.
"If you can just grab their attention early, they'll come back," said Horn.
Beyond the teen party, Horn said the museum will travel even further down the rabbit hole with a special exhibit, "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland by Salvador Dali," which will run March 19 to May 9.
The exhibit, donated by an anonymous collector, will feature 13 pieces and will be shown at the museum's 839 Stamper Road location.
"We're still figuring out how we're going to display the works," said Horn. "This literally just came to our attention."
Horn said the exhibit comes from a private local art collector was impressed with the museum's past Dali exhibit, "Dalí Illustrates Dante's Divine Comedy," held at the Festival Park Plaza building.
That exhibit, which ran Feb. 12-28, brought in 3,456 viewers, including paid customers and 452 students on a free school tour.
"We're very happy with the results," said Horn. "Dali's been very successful for us. Last year's Warhol exhibit only brought in 2,000, and that's including the school students."
The 13 images of the new exhibit, all original woodcuts, will depict scenes from the Lewis Carroll novel, "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." The images, Horn said, will have that certain Dali twist to them - just as the eccentric artist put his unique stamp on the "Divine Comedy."
"There'll only be 13 pieces, but they'll be so much larger than the 'Divine Comedy' work," said Horn. "And there's so many layers to each piece, so many stories within stories. It's breathtaking."
In addition to the exhibit, the museum will host a pair of Down the Rabbit Hole costume parties - one for children, the other for adults - on Saturday, April 17, at the museum.
"We'll be transforming the museum grounds into an 'Alice' theme," said Horn. "And we're encouraging everyone to come out dressed as their favorite 'Alice in Wonderland' character."
The children's party will feature art projects, games, festivities, and a tea time with Alice and her friends.
The evening party will be geared more towards adults, Horn said.
"Daytime will be Disney, and nighttime will be more Johnny Depp and Tim Burton," Horn said.
Go to www.fayettevillemuseumart.org/aliceteen.htm or call 485-5121 for more information. Reservations are recommended for the teen party, but not required.
Staff writer Brian Dukes can be reached at dukesb@fayobserver.com or 486-3523.