The lifeless eyes and scaly face of the Creature From the Black Lagoon leered down at the revelers from atop the limestone double staircase. Dark green claws rested on the banisters.
Swamp green strobe lights pulsated on the gray walls and arched entryway leading to art and antiquities. A DJ booth replaced the atrium’s matte tables and chairs where, in the daytime, patrons sip coffee and flip through exhibition pamphlets, thinking about art.
A man in a burgundy smoking jacket and jeans stepped to a techno remix of Prince’s “Kiss” while an aerialist in a pink miniskirt swung around a mounted pole in the corner. Young professional couples, drinks in hand, bobbed their heads to the rhythm of her hips.
It really was a true dance party at — of all places — the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Four times a year, the museum — known for its marble bust of Diana and statue of Bacchus, stately portraits of the 19th century American ruling class and ancient sarcophagi — lets loose with turntables and alcohol.
The quarterly event series, called Ignite, aims to attract a younger crowd to the world of fine art.
In the Chrysler’s Huber Court, transformed for the Ignite event Oct. 3, music played and dancers took the floor. (Bill Tiernan/For The Virginian-Pilot)
“Ignite is really designed for the next generation of museumgoers,” explained Stacey Shelnut-Hendrick, the deputy director of public engagement and learning at the Chrysler. “If you sort of call them SOBs — symphonies, operas, ballets and fine art institutions — we have a dying audience. I mean there is no other way to put it.”
And by transforming the museum into a lively social venue, Ignite attracts new visitors. The parties regularly bring crowds of over 800 people — largely composed of 20-, 30- and 40-somethings — and only 20% are museum members. The latest brought in more than 600. The shindigs cost between $8,000 and $14,000, but the program’s financial goal is to break even.
“It brings in as much as is spent and what we gain is considered priceless and beyond dollars and cents,” Shelnut-Hendrick said.
Erik Neil, director and president at the Chrysler, described the benefit simply: “It’s fun.”
“It attracts maybe not what you might call your ‘classic,’” he continued, using air quotes, “museum crowd. It’s a lot of people who maybe haven’t come to Chrysler that often, but the Ignite program has really attracted a lot of young people, a lot of people.”
Heather Thomas of Norfolk emerges from “Mermaid Land” — in costume with the Creature From the Black Lagoon over her shoulders — one of four areas around the Chrysler museum offering interactive experiences for the Ignite event. (Bill Tiernan/For The Virginian-Pilot)
Each party has a theme, usually tied either to a traveling exhibition on display or a community art event.
The theme of the first Ignite, in January 2024, was tied to the visiting photography exhibition “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm” and promoted the idea that Beatles fans of “Yesterday” were similar to today’s fans of pop stars like Beyonce, Shelnut-Hendrick said.
Later in 2024, the museum sent out an open social media invite — “Calling all Francophiles!” — to check out its party related to a visiting French impressionist exhibit.
The latest party, on Oct. 3, celebrated Halloween and referenced that weekend’s floating art parade on the flood-prone Hague waterway, which ends at the Chrysler. That night, with lights low and bass up, the Chrysler looked like a black lagoon.
Liz Boatwright of Norfolk outside the Chrysler Museum of Art on Oct. 3, greeting people at the Ignite event. She entertained the crowd in Black Lagoon Court with lighted Hula Hoop routines. (Bill Tiernan/ For The Virginian-Pilot)
People dressed in varying costumes, including fish, dinosaurs and the Creature From the Black Lagoon itself. Dancers moved to a remixed, dub step version of Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock’s “It Takes Two.”
Two bars sold specialty cocktails: The Haunted Lagoon, made with vodka, blue curaçao, pineapple juice and Sprite; and The Creature, with Dewar’s whisky, pineapple juice, lime juice and orange juice, garnished with a “creepy” surprise.
A first floor hallway led to “Mermaid Land,” which organizers dubbed a “splashy escape” from the loud music where patrons could have their faces painted or enjoy arts and crafts.
But not everyone was into the low-key vibe.
Olga Novak, a program assistant at the Chrysler Museum of Art, dressed as a witch for the Ignite event Friday evening, Oct. 3. (Bill Tiernan/For The Virginian-Pilot)
Emi Faith, 22, of Virginia Beach, and Lizzy Imes, 21, of Chesapeake, walked in, took one look at the arts and crafts, and headed back to the action.
Faith, dressed as a nun in a black dress and a veil, said: “I just threw on something black and cute and a nun hood, and here we are.”
“I’m a clown,” Imes explained. “I was like, ‘Pastel clown, that sounds good to me.’”
Other than the sound quality and choice of remixed songs, they both said they would recommend Ignite.
Outside, a garden had been turned into a “Jellyfish Forest” (designed by The Virginian-Pilot’s government editor, Andrea Noble). Jellyfish sculptures made from reused cloth and tinsel hung from limbs of the old, twisted and gnarled oaks that surround the museum as lights flashed and constantly changed colors — aqua, dark blue, purple — underlighting the floating sea creatures in the trees.
A young millennial couple dressed as crayons, Jeff and Mishelle Reimiller, stood in the garden, admiring the view. They became museum members after stopping by a previous Ignite and now attend the event series regularly.
“Yeah, it’s fun,” he said.
“It’s very fun. Yeah,” she said. “I think it’s a good outlet especially for Gen Z’s. It seems like there’re a lot of them here.”
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com
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If you go
What: Ignite: Mad Hatter
When: Jan 30
Where: Chrysler Museum of Art, One Memorial Place, Norfolk
Tickets: $30 ($20 in advance); $20 ($10 in advance) for museum members
Details: chrysler.org
