Preview: MFA College Night

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston College Night

September 22, 7 p.m.

465 Huntington Avenue, Boston

It could be argued that the average college student’s life is ordered around what costs money and what does not. On September 22 from 7 to 11 p.m., the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston is making an offer that falls on the “does not” side of that divide. At the MFA’s College Night, students “will be some of the first people to come see inside” the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art and can also explore the newly renovated Art of the Americas Wing, digital marketing coordinator Christy B. Stine says. Attendees can also meet thousands of college students from the Boston area, practice their drawing skills with provided models and supplies, and enjoy free refreshments, courtesy of Chipotle and Pinkberry.

The event features a gallery performance by Keith Fullerton Whitman, as well as a coffeehouse performance by acoustic musician and Berklee College of Music alumna Liz Longley in the museum’s restaurant, Bravo.

“It’s a great social event,” Stine says. “I think it’s a great introduction to the museum for people who haven’t been before. You don’t get to have your own special party in the museum every day.”

The museum hopes to maintain a relationship with university students of the Boston area and remind them that admission is free every day. Only on College Night, however, can students mingle only with other college students in a museum environment, enjoy a dance party courtesy of DJ LeahV, and hula-hoop in a “big, soaring glass courtyard … a perfect place for the hula-hoops to go on,” public relations representative Katharine T. Mohana says.

Max Wang ’13 appreciates the effort the museum is putting into reaching out to students who may not have thought to visit the MFA.

“It’s naturally hard for a museum to get students at the college of a big research university to engage with the museum,” Wang says. However, as demonstrated by the approximately 5,000 students who attended College Night in 2010, the MFA will likely have no trouble attracting students this year. One of them may be Wang, who says he sees the appeal of such an event.

“Come and get to know us,” Mohana says. “Get to know the museum and what we have to offer.” Students with I.D. cards may do so anytime from 7 to 11 p.m. on September 22.