After two weeks of events and creativity, on February 24 The Fruitmarket Gallery hosted a closing party to celebrate and reflect on togetherness through an array of entertaining activities. Besides being over-excited and trying to walk in before the party had even started, the night was pretty amazing. Visitors were welcomed with a Cosmopolitan, and by the ‘ritmoclectic beats’ of DJ Domcore.
The real protagonists of the evening were certainly the activities proposed by the gallery. Although none of us really knew what we were doing, my friends and I spent at least forty minutes working on the creation of banners. It was the first time I made anything like this and it was amusing having complete creative freedom with many different materials. In the face of artistic semi-failure, I met many interesting people who shared the same difficulty in putting together anything at least semi-decent.
My favourite part of the event was creating badges. I always find it an entertaining and creative activity which has the power to set apart a nice artsy party from a banal one. Creating badges gave visitors the time to look through art magazines, while having a drink and a pleasant conversation with a possible new friend. Moreover, it gave us a souvenir to remind us of the event, making the night memorable.
In a different room, a film was projected documenting the previous weeks of activities at the gallery. In combination with this installation, there was a book of collective art which had been created by the visitors during the previous events. Since the core of the party was togetherness, a giant dice suggested group activities meant to encourage strangers to talk and interact. I found myself involved in few of these tasks and I genuinely enjoyed the good conversations I had thanks to this.
With this event, the Fruitmarket Gallery further demonstrates itself to be one of the places to keep an eye on in Edinburgh. LINK Party was completely free, and it offered a pleasing and enjoyable night affordable to anyone. If you are interested in contemporary art, I would strongly recommend checking the incoming events of the gallery as many of them are free and offer high-quality displays. On the other hand, even if you are not so involved in the arts, it might be worth giving it a try during future events hosted by the gallery.
Image: Sofia Cotrona