This past Friday’s McMullen Museum student opening, part of its Art after Dark series, is an example of a successful campus event. The museum boasts a number of impressive collections and also offers a rooftop view and glass-walled staircase. Attracting students to the museum is important so that these many advantages don’t go to waste. It might seem difficult to bring large numbers of college students out to an art museum on a Friday night, but this recent event proved that it is possible and very doable. The event was heavily attended, with a steady stream of students attending during its four hours.
This success must be imitated in the future by other Boston College groups. The event was prepared, marketed, and executed in a way that brought out large numbers of students who were able to make the most out of what was offered. This success began with the planning of the event. By integrating multiple aspects into the museum, such as musical performances, food and drinks, games, and activities, the event was set up to attract people who might otherwise be uninterested in art.
This demonstrates an effective way of planning events. The event took advantage of every aspect of the McMullen Museum, from the beauty of the building itself and the view it offers, to the collections within and the museum’s potential as a venue. Musical group performances and planned activities not only brought interested students, but involved students who are a part of these groups and expanded the natural promotion of the event through this.
After this, the use of effective marketing spread the word. Flyers, emails, and reminders kept the event from flying under the radar. This marketing is essential to any event on campus. Ensuring that every student is aware of what is offered helps make the event successful and prevents student, who would want to go from missing out. Promotion through student workers and ambassadors also helped in this way. Ambassadors made the experience interactive and enhanced the event as a whole. All of this combined brought students to the museum, where they were able to see the expansive collection of documents and art that the museum houses. The art, such as the Beyond Words collection and the museum’s permanent collection, deserve attention from students and events like this make that possible.
The McMullen Museum student opening is a great model for future events of this magnitude. As BC and BC students groups attempt to plan and promote similar programs, they would do well to use the planning, marketing, and execution of Arts after Dark as a template.
Featured Image by Kristin Saleski / Heights Staff
