Art Plus Music Party
Thursday 22 April 2010

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Whitechapel Gallery Art Plus Music Party 2010

Art and music fused at the Whitechapel Gallery’s Art Plus Music Party 2010 on Thursday 22 April.

The Whitechapel Gallery’s Art Plus Party celebrates the flashpoints of art and other cultural forms in an exceptional one-off event. Whitechapel Director, Iwona Blazwick OBE, Art Plus Co-Chair Jefferson Hack, along with co-host ELLE editor in chief Lorraine Candy, and the committee of leading figures from the arts, fashion, film and music worlds, invited guests to an extraordinary evening of live performance, art and music to raise funds for the Gallery’s Education and Community programme.

Having received invitations by fashion designer Giles Deacon, a host of VIP guests turned up at the beautiful Whitechapel Gallery. Art Plus Co-Chair Jefferson Hack and co-host ELLE editor in chief Lorraine Candy joined glamorous guests including Kate Moss, Jamie Hince, Johnny Borrell, Tracey Emin and Bobby Gillespie to enjoy Arts Plus Breeze Tovaritch! Vodka cocktails, refreshing Evian, Peroni beer, and lashings of fizz. A special best-of-British inspired menu was created by event designers Urban Caprice and saw guests tucking into Devon red chicken pies, slow roasted Shetland lamb and The Ivy’s salmon fishcakes, with Wright Brother’s oysters.

Artists and musicians took to the stage with specially commissioned live performances. Artist and fashion designer Julie Verhoeven’s artwork was the backdrop to a performance by Primal Scream’s front man Bobby Gillespie, accompanied by special guest Jamie Hince (The Kills), Primal Scream guitarist Barrie Cadogan and drummer Darrin Mooney. Twice Mercury Music Prize & multiple Brit Award nominee Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes) performed solo with a string quartet for the first time in London, accompanied by a film projection. Artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster performed with punk band S.C.U.M. Jack Peñate played a new song written specially for the Art Plus Music Party. Singer and multi-instrumentalist Bishi performed a new piece with an interactive artwork by digital artist Oscar Sol. The evening’s finale was the London premiere of Sol is going home… by artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster and composer Ari Benjamin Meyers featuring a 28-piece orchestra playing an excerpt from Beethoven’s 6th Symphony.

The Art Plus Party Auction saw Sotheby’s Oliver Barker courting the room as guests bid for artworks by Gavin Turk, Rebecca Warren, Bridget Riley and more. As artists Fiona Banner, Gavin Turk and Rachel Whiteread looked on Christian Marclay’s Fender Stratocaster, 2008, was snapped up for £3,000, while Raoul De Keyser’s handed painted etching was the work of choice in a bidding war between art dealers and artist Conrad Shawcross. A stellar line-up of DJs including Jefferson Hack, Trevor Jackson, Dan Lywood, Matthew Stone, David Dorrell and The Voguettes really got the party started with live sets throughout the building.

The Art Plus Music Party 2010 generated more than £75,000 of vital funds for the Whitechapel Gallery’s Education and Community Programme.

Download a full press release here and read about the Art Plus Music Party in ELLE.

Photos © Kristel Raesaar