After a successful October premiere, the museum's new monthly series returns in November with "Be a MAM Rock Star," which will feature a photo shoot, a do-it-yourself creation station where guests can create a project that they can take home, performance installations by the UW-Milwaukee Dance and Digital Media departments and best of all, a live air guitar competition.,”ssionals into the Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr., the museum will keep its doors open until midnight Friday for its second late-night event, MAM After Dark.
After a successful October premiere, the museum's new monthly series returns in November with "Be a MAM Rock Star," which will feature a photo shoot, a do-it-yourself creation station where guests can create a project that they can take home, performance installations by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Dance and Digital Media departments and best of all, a live air guitar competition.
Last month's event, "Run Up to the Runway," had almost 1200 people in attendance, and the museum hopes for a repeat performance with this month's program. "Run Up to the Runway" was the first MAM After Dark event. It featured a live runway fashion show, which showcased designs by Mount Mary College fashion students and fall fashions from local designers.
This month, the event will again feature music by Tarik Moody of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, a cash bar and hors d'oeuvres, although the theme of this month has changed from fashion to rocking out.
The Art Museum's interactive exhibit, "Act/React: Interactive Art," will be open throughout the evening for visitors to explore. The museum store will be open as well, and a 20 percent discount is offered to Museum members.
"You can get your holiday shopping started," said Jonas Wittke, community relations manager for the museum.
The headlining event, an air guitar competition featuring members of U.S. Air Guitar, begins at 9 p.m.
"It's exactly what it sounds like," Wittke said, regarding U.S. Air Guitar.
Individuals pick stage names (Rocktopus, Fast Freddie and Sanjar the Destroyer are a few favorites), get up onstage and shred their hearts out – all without an actual guitar.
Visitors to the event will have a chance to compete for their own spot onstage, too. Two crowd members will be chosen to take the stage and strut their air guitar stuff.
The crowd members will be competing against eight pre-selected competitors, and an American Idol-style panel will judge each performer. The winner receives a Jack Daniels guitar – real guitar lessons not included.
Those who are interested in the guitar-less glory should come in costume and "have a name," Wittke said. "A stage name is definitely important. Just work on your chops."
Former U.S. Air Guitar champion the Rockness Monster, who will be premiering some of his original videos at the event, will host the air guitar competition.
If invisible guitars aren't your thing, don't worry — there will be plenty of other entertainment options available throughout the evening.
The DIY Creation Station will have museum educators "on-hand with all kinds of materials you can make your own art," Wittke said, and a photo studio where you can "just show up and they'll show you how to pose." Some of the photos taken at the event will be used in future ad campaigns for the MAM After Dark series.
MAM After Dark will be held at the Milwaukee Art Museum Friday from 5 p.m. to midnight. It is an all-ages event, and tickets are $10 at the door or preorder for $8 at www.mam.org. Members get in free.
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