So did the Frick rock on its inaugural College Night?
On the evening of Sept. 30 — the Frick’s first free night for College students — the museum was pretty crowded. More than 410 undergraduate and graduate students were there, and PR 
chief Heidi Rosenau says “that’s a larger crowd than we see at any exhibition opening.” It didn’t seem jammed, she says, because “all permanent collection galleries and the Music Room and Garden Court were open and in use.”
The students came from about 35 institutions, as close as Rockefeller University and as far away as Indiana University — or is Middlebury further? The largest contingent came from Rutgers, because Professor Benjamin Paul, a Renaissance art historian, herded 40 students onto a bus for the trip into the city.
The Frick was keen to offer programs on College Night, inlcuding talks by Colin B. Bailey, the deputy director and chief curator; Stephen Bury, the chief of the Art Reference Library, and Rika Burnham, head of Education. Rosenau says they were “really well attended,” perhaps because “we offered small intimate gallery conversations, and participants could pick two presentations out of a list.” And there was sketching, refreshments and music/dancing in the Music Room (no word on how many took those activities up — so I chose a picture of the sketching as one of the illustrations here). Curators roamed, chatting up the students.
The Library staff also set out comfortable chairs and a selection of books related to the Frick’s collections and exhibition. As a result, 56 new people signed up to use the library, and some have already made a visit.
Afterwards, Bailey emailed the Frick’s staff saying, among other things, “It was one of the most enjoyable evening events we have organized. The students were very engaged, polite and respectful, and absolutely delighted to be at The Frick as special guests. An excellent new initiative!” It’s likely to be an annual event.
So there you have it. I know other museums attract larger crowds, but they are bigger museums. The tone of this event seems about right to me.
Photo Credits: Courtesy of The Frick Collection, New York/photographer: Lucas Chilczuk