Few events can draw San Francisco's artists, designers, media moguls, intellectuals, and foodies all together in the same room, but 7x7 and the de Young Museum found the elusive combination when they teamed up to host #PoliticalHaring, an after-hours social in honor of the new Keith Haring: The Political Line exhibition that just opened at the storied Golden Gate Park museum.
Start with a ground-breaking exhibition and add in a hosted bar, piping-hot pizza, a photobooth, and a refreshingly modern set by DJ Proof, and a lively party will certainly ensue. Guests traveled from all over the Bay Area to attend the event, which tipped its cap to 7x7's November Design Issue, which featured a vivid portrait of Keith Haring on its cover. Photography is typically prohibited inside exhibits at the de Young, but the museum made a special exception for the evening. Guests Instagrammed and tweeted a flurry of images and comments on the exhibit at @7x7sf and @deyoungmuseum, turning #politicalharing into a virtual treasure trove of moments from the evening.
Attendees sipped on freshly-mixed cocktails from Mount Gay Rum and The Botanist Gin, mixed their own custom Rickeys at the Cointreau station, and enjoyed zinfandel from Napa favorite City Winery and fresh pilsner from East Bay's Trumer Pils. Hot Italian passed its signature pizza around the event, and Got Light bathed the room in a vivid rainbow of color.
Guests received a ticket to Keith Haring: The Political Line exhibition upon arriving at the event, and attendees willingly set their cocktails aside in order to experience the retrospective of one of the most influential artists of the past several decades. Although references to Haring's work are nearly ubiquitous in American culture, The Political Line is the first exhibition to focus on the political scope and power of Haring's work. Haring was an arbiter of social justice and change, and the de Young's exhibition brings his passion alive in vivid, kinetic color.
Experience Keith Haring: The Political Line at the de Young Museum through February 16, 2015. 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive