Lucky Draw

My friend Mame and I went to the annual Scupture Center Lucky Draw event on Tuesday night in Queens.

The Sculpture Center is, in my opinion, this totally underrated boutique art museum located outside the city just three subway stops. Every year they host a fundraiser/event where 160 artists donate work and the museum hosts a raffle sale to raise operating funds. It's a good idea, but even more so, it's a really cool event. I think I've gone four years in a row. My friend Rob used to go with me, but he dropped out and Mame has gone with me the last two years. It's got to be one of the most fun things I can think of attending. They provide a nice spread of food, free drinks and lots and lots of great art.

What makes the evening so exciting is that they sell exactly 160 tickets (it always sells out) and then they throw all of the tickets into a bin and spin it around. Meanwhile, before they call the names you walk around the museum looking at all the art that fills every wall space and make a list of all the art you might want to choose. Some of it is awesome and other pieces you might think are crappy. You try to make a list in order of priority, but it's really hard to choose exactly what you might want if your name is called early. The guy who hosts the raffle (it's more like a funky auction) is funny and captivating. I love listening to him. As they select the names out of the spinning bin randomly one by one, you wait for your name to be called so that you can select a piece of art that you want. However, because you never know when your name is going to be called, you basically sit there on pins and needles waiting, waiting, waiting. Meanwhile the assortment of art gets smaller and smaller as people who are chosen before you select pieces that you may have wanted. A lot of the art is quite valuable and other pieces less so, but all of the art is from relatively known or upcoming artists and are exceptionally well-conceived.

I really wanted a piece by Christian Tomaszewski, but it was one of the first ones selected and I ended up taking home a nice wooden sculpture instead. (See picture of Mame with my sculpture in a box.) Mame snagged a cool painting for herself.

All in all, another really fun night in New York City.