You're Invited! Montclair Art Museum's Centennial Birthday Party

The Montclair Art Museum is throwing itself a 100th birthday party and you are invited. Join MAM for a free Centennial Birthday Party on Wednesday, Jan. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The centerpiece of the evening will be a short program in Leir Hall where a video about the museum created by Montclair residents Mark Urman (executive producer) and Dawn Porter (director) will be shown. The brief screening will be followed by a concert by the Newark Boys Chorus.

What’s a birthday party without cake? The Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro, will present a custom-made cake to MAM, which will be served to guests along with a champagne toast.

And there’s more.

• Deejays Rita Houston and Russ Borris from radio station WFUV will spin tunes spanning from 1914 to the present. 
• Visitors will hear live music by students from the Jazz Studies program at the Montclair State University John J. Cali School of Music. 
• A site-specific permanent work entitled “Yellow” by internationally renowned artist Spencer Finch will be unveiled. 
• Local poets will perform works inspired MAM’s Centennial exhibition.
• The exhibition 100 Works for 100 Years, which has been mounted in installments, will be on full display.
  

“We want everyone in our community — in Montclair and surrounding areas and throughout Northern New Jersey and beyond — to help us celebrate this milestone,” Museum Director Lora Urbanelli said. “On the evening of January 15, we will pay tribute to our legacy and prepare for a promising future while having lots of fun!”

In the Centennial Lounge, visitors can vote for their favorite works from 100 Works for 100 Years, comment on their selections, curate their own magnetic mini-exhibition, interact with MAM’s crowd-sourced audio project “100 Works, 100 Voices,” and learn more about MAM’s history through the Centennial Newspaper, distributed for the first time that evening.

The celebration will continue throughout the winter and spring. The exhibition Robert Smithson’s New Jersey opens on Feb. 23, and the MAM Centennial Ball is planned for April 26.

For more information, www.montclairartmuseum.org.

What is your favorite memory/experience about the Montclair Art Museum? Tell us in the comments.