Downtown area welcomes urban atmosphere
The event included musical performances, art exhibits and free giveaways, which aimed to give Downtown Columbia a new vitality, if only for one night.
Young children could be found in the courtyard of the Columbia Museum of Art, where a local band, Lunch Money, played at the beginning of the night.
The courtyard also hosted the installation entitled "Saturated Deprivation" by Dana Childs. "Saturated Deprivation" was meant to "explore how an object can be in simultaneous dimensions when an action is placed on it" and is based on Schrödinger's cat experiment. The exhibit was set inside of a large blue shipping bin, and viewers had to go inside of a box in the bin to view walls covered with dots and drawings, causing some of them to admit they felt trapped or going crazy.
Later in the evening the courtyard, also named Boyd Plaza, hosted Columbia's Alternacirque. After the group greeted attendees in Frame of Mind, which they had converted to a type of nest with their own quotes on the walls and decorated railings to reflect the group's dark aesthetic, they put on a full 45 minute show in the plaza.
S & S Art Supply hosted an exhibition entitled "The Figure Ei8ht," which was composed of 48 drawings and nine sculptures, according to Amanda Ladymon, a USC alumna. Ladymon currently serves as adjunct faculty at Augusta State University, and all of the pieces involved were by her students.
"It was the biggest and most ambitious undertaking we've ever done, but I think it was still our best," Ladymon said.
The Free Times office held the "Who Shot Rock: Rock Photography of the Carolinas" exhibit, which is a companion exhibit to the "Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to Present" exhibit at the Columbia Museum of Art, featuring shots of popular artists like blink-182.
As the night wound down, the drawings began, awarding participants with gift certificates to places like Villa Tronco and the Sheraton as well as memberships to the Columbia Museum of Art and the Nickelodeon Theatre. The Nickelodeon had a table in front of the old Fox Theatre, where the Nick plans to move. Beside the theater was a tent for the Mast General Store, which is still under construction.
DJ Fred GLDFNGR, Palmetto Opera, Say Brother, The Unawares and Magnetic Flowers all provided sounds for the evening, set up in various locations. DJ Fred GLDFINGR jockeyed in Tapp's pocket park while The Unawares and Magnetic Flowers performed on the corner of Gervais and Main streets. During some of the performances, the Columbia Shag Club danced behind First Citizens Bank.
The Tapp's Building windows displayed dresses from Helen Hill's project entitled
"The Florenstine Collection" which will be shown during the Indie Grits Festival later this month.
Free food and drinks including spring rolls, quesadillas, chicken salad sandwiches, wine and soft drinks throughout the night.