The Institute of Contemporary Art at Penn held its inaugural "First Wednesday" open house yesterday as part of its mission to bring Penn students to greater appreciation of contemporary art.
Although it was largely School of Design students who attended, some undergraduates could be found wandering around the exhibit.
"It's a bit of an experiment" said Roman Petruniak, a College senior and a representative on the ICA board of directors. "We could have done more advertising."
The event's name is a play on First Fridays, a program instituted in 1991 whereby Old City art galleries are open late and serve drinks on the first Friday of every month.
Organizers expected to bring in 30 to 100 students, a goal they were well on their way to reaching by 8 p.m. Petruniak attributed the renewed interest in bringing the Penn community to the ICA to recently appointed and "very energetic" Director Claudia Gould.
The ICA, which is located at 36th and Sansom streets, has taken numerous steps to get more Penn involvement, including a special after-hours session for residential advisers to get to know the museum and College House dinners held at the site.
"This is something that we feel very strongly about," said College Houses and Academic Services Associate Director David Fox, who attended as part of the DuBois College House tour and to enjoy the festivities.
One of the most popular events the ICA puts on is the biannual dance party benefit, for which the ICA hires a DJ and serves alcoholic drinks.
Next year, the ICA hopes to open early to accommodate an event for freshmen during New Student Orientation.
First Wednesday is part of a larger program supported by the Spiegel Fund, dedicated to raising awareness for contemporary culture and visual arts among students. The Fund employs two graduate students who organize different events around Philadelphia and who also served as tour guides for yesterday's event.
One group of underclassmen, who had come because their friend was enrolled in a Spiegel Fund freshman seminar, were especially happy to find there was free pizza and coffee.
Other attendees were more interested in the exhibition itself.
"This is place is world-referenced, world-renowned," said Donna Han, a PennDesign student.
First Wednesdays will continue to be held every first Wednesday of the month, except when Penn classes are not in session.
