I love art (art is like fashion you can’t wear, and fashion is like art you can wear and play with) and Montreal’s Museum of Fine Arts is one of my favorite museums in the world, yes in the world. People who know me also know I love 5@7s and networking events, so imagine my enthousiasm when I first found out about The Young Philanthropists circle and I know it’s something you’d want to know about and experience yourself! To further explain what the circle does, I had the privilege to interview Danielle Champagne, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts’ Foundation.
1) What inspired you to create the Young Philanthropists circle?
We had previously launched a series of events called Yeux Grand Ouverts, inspired by the movie Eyes Wide Shot, for the younger generation, which lasted for about 8 years. The artistic direction was assured by Cirque du Soleil and was more on the trendy, fashion, fun, wild side. Tickets quickly sold out and some would end up in auctions on E-Bay. Afterwards, we wanted to create something that young people who love art could identify with and that would make them want to learn about art, becoming a collectionner and about the museum in general all while networking with like minded young people. After consulting with the younger crowd, which showed interest and enthusiasm to contribute to the museum’s concrescence, the Circle was born.
2) How did you come up with the idea of the Unplugged events (D-Vernissage in French) versus the traditional Vernissage?
People often wait until the last minute to visit an exposition, thus the long lineups outside the Museum everytime an exposition ends, so we thought it would be a good idea to create a private exclusive event for members of the Circle one or two weeks before the end with no lineups followed by a networking cocktail with music, small bites and drinks.
3) Who is behind the event organization?
Young professionals from a large variety of fields and industries such as accountants, lawyers, people in finance, marketing and communication, artists, etc.
4) Who can be part of the circle? (is it only for young professionals in the business community?)
No, the only applicable criteria to be part of the Young Philanthropists Circle is to be between 25 and 45 years old. There are no profession criterias as we have, amongst our members, doctors, artists, lawyers, accountants, people from the fashion industry, the car industry, etc.
5) What are the perks of being a member?
The membership gives access to all the expositions, concerts, unplugged events, art chats and to a 100 museums in north America, discounts at the boutique, privileged seats for conferences while contributing to the advancement of the Museum through the membership which gives you a fiscal receipt for charity.
6) What type of events are organized through the circle other than the unplugged events? ( I saw some collectionner workshops. What is it exactly?)
Red carpet art chats, meeting collectors, sponsors, curator of the Museum. As a matter of fact, we welcomed Paul Marechal, a young collector whom lended us the Andy Warhol collection for the expo, for our last red carpet art chat. He started his collection 10 years ago by purchasing Warhol pieces through e-Bay. Some art pieces can be purchased for $300-$400, so you can be a collector as well.
7) How many D-Vernissages are organized for members of the circle per year?
Approximately 3 per year.
8) Are the events oriented towards social or business networking?
They are for both.
9) What’s the feedback you receive from members regarding events?
The feedback is very positive. People generally renew their memberships and we regularly welcome new members.
10) How could someone get involved in the behind the scenes organization?
We actually have a wait list for young people who would like to be part of the organizing team. In order to give a chance to more people to get involved, we shortned the mandate length to increase team rotations. Being part of the committee is a fun adventure that comes with organizing responsibilities and meetings.
11) When is the next D-Vernissage?
Our next Unplugged event Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism: Benjamin-Constant in His Time is scheduled for May 21st.
Editor’s personal experience
I personally am a member of the circle and I enjoy their soirées. When people tell me they are not into museums my answer is: You haven’t been to the same museums and events I go to. My museum experiences involve art, a killer ambiance with young interesting people and a refined decor, tasty small bites, wine and other drinks. Oh.. And I almost forgot to mention all the concentrate of style and fashion I get to witness in one place. So, this is an absolute must try and if you see me, come and say hi 🙂
Photos: Courtesy of The Museum of Fine Arts
