A night out on the town can be to celebrate a big event or to just let loose after a long week. Simply having a free Friday night is reason enough! But being out amongst a large group of people in a high energy space (likely with alcohol on top of that) can bring out strong emotions, and not all of them positive.
In this exhibition, we want to show how artwork of nightlife scenes capture the vast range of emotions one may feel during a night out. Join us for a night out on the town through the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and explore with us an array of emotions, from joy and excitement to loneliness and regret.
We finally step into the bar, where some of the crowd indulges in song and dance.
The drinks are wickedly overpriced and are somehow way too weak despite tasting like pure liquor.
We crowd ourselves at a dimly lit corner table to continue our conversations and revel in the beauty of genuine human connection.
Post Night
The bar closes, the lights from inside spilling out into the night.
After the constant noise of the bar, silence is unsettling. We walk slowly and steadily home.
All the adrenaline from the night has worn off. Now we are just tired and drunk.
From Joy to Regret, It’s All Part of the Night
We hope you enjoyed your night out with us. We wanted to highlight the variety of emotions one may feel during the night, not just the initial ones which come to mind. We also wanted to emphasise that happy emotions are not necessary better than sad ones. We as humans are so emotionally complex and all emotions are entirely valid and important. Joy can be felt both deeply and shallowly, so can feeling like loneliness and regret. One is not better than the other and we should feel emboldened to experience all of our emotions fully.
So, what do say? Want to do this again next weekend?
Night Out
Playlist
