A Night at the Museum
Nestled in the center of Old Town lies the Fort Collins Art Museum. Every year the art museum hosts over 220 masks created by local artists all who specialize in different mediums. These masks each represent something personal and unique to each artist. I attended the mask exhibit and was amazed by all the variation between each mask. These masks leave viewers pondering different things, many of them acting as a social commentary on current and important issues. While some are lighthearted and fun, others addressed more serious topics. No matter what tone and creative direction the artists took when creating the masks, it is certain that all of them are beautiful in their own way.
I was curious how my own thoughts on the masks compared to those of the other museum attendees. Will Hevesee is an attendee who who didn’t know of the ongoing exhibit until seeing the promotional posters outside the museum. When asked for his thoughts on the exhibit he went on to say that “Im very impressed with it all. I wasn’t expecting so many different style masks. I didn’t know this whole museum was right here in old town, it’s something I think everyone should see.”
I approached another attendee. This one was a young man named Jack Pederson. I asked him which mask spoke the most to him. He told me that “Hot Summer by Brooke Fetisoff is my favorite, it’s just so creative the way it’s scultped and all the shading is super unique. It reminds me that everyone has a little bit of chaos in their lives every now and then, and that's okay.” This one stuck out to me too and Jack told me how he had just placed a bid on it.
Viewers can directly interact with this massive exhibition, as every mask is up for auction online. If someone sees something they like they can bid in increments of 10$ on the CausePilot page attached to a QR code next to each mask.
The museum of art state on their website that, “The annual Masks exhibition is a crowd favorite that over the years has raised more than $1.8 million dollars to support the museum’s mission. During that time, Masks artists, most of whom live in Northern Colorado, have designed and donated more than 3,000 masks”
The mask exhibit is a key event in the Museum of Art’s annual cycle, as it fundraises a huge amount for the museum and puts hundreds of local artists under the spotlight every year. The mask exhibition and online auction go all the way until May 5. While the exhibit is in town for quite some time it is something you certainly do not want to miss. You never know, one of the masks you see may just end up hanging in your own home!
