36 Hours in Hyde Park

By Justin Sondak in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 28, 2006 9:01PM

Years ago, in more innocent times, the Museum of Contemporary Art held an annual marathon party to commemorate the Summer Solstice and reacquaint us with the institution. Those days, like the MCA’s outsized hospitality, are no more. But this weekend the Hyde Park Art Center steals a page from that playbook, celebrating their newly christened home during the 36-hour Creative Move.

After 60 years as a quiet U of C friend, HPAC has relocated to bigger, newer, flashier digs up the road, a few blocks closer to their ever-pricier Kenwood neighbors. They’re committed to enriching our lives by extending programs and instruction in a wide variety of media. So…new space, more classes, wider audience, bigger parties.

And what a space it is. Three times larger than their previous digs, an obscure back studio on Hyde Park Avenue, the new HPAC has the capacity for multiple exhibitions and expanded classroom space. The oversized front façade will be an experimental canvas for video artists, the inaugural video installation Weather Sky is a digital reinterpretation of weather data.

This weekend’s party features an all-night DJ session for the vampires and Pilates for the early risers. Teaching artists will show us how they make the pretty art and how we can start aspiring to do the same. They, and guest companies, will encourage the youngsters to get a head start on an artistic life. The more passive types can stand around listening to live music or sit on their duff for a few films or short plays.

Creative Move is at the (new) Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S Cornell Ave, from Saturday 9am – Sunday 9pm. Admission is free. For more information, call 773-324-5520 or visit www.hydeparkart.org.

Image via HPAC.