Booze, bar food and a lineup of live music aren’t normally things you’d associate with a museum. But that’s exactly what you’ll get at Tequila Sunsets, a brand new summer initiative at the Australian Museum designed to open up the exhibition space to people who might otherwise give it a miss.
“It’s a long time since museums have been somewhere where we have everything behind glass,” says visitor services manager Sophie Masters, whose department previously helped coordinate the Jurassic Lounge. “The socialising aspect is so important. It’s rare to have someone who’ll come along on their own, read the labels and go home. Most people come in and want to talk to each other about what they see. It’s the sort of thing you’d do in a bar.”
Every Thursday evening throughout December and January, visitors will have access to half-price entry into the museum. Each week will feature a different set of performances and events, from a Mexican DJ to a four-piece mariachi band, as well as quesadillas, guacamole and plenty of 4 Pines Brewery beer.
It’s all focused around the current Aztecs exhibition, a joint production between several museums in Mexico as well as the Australian Museum, Museum Victoria and the Museum of New ZealandTe Papa Tongarewa. “It’s really exciting,” says Masters. “There are over 200 artefacts that have come out of Mexico, many of them for the first time. [It] explores the whole story of the Aztecs, right from the early foundations through to their eventual demise.”
Running through the Tequila Sunsets program, Masters identifies a number of highlights, including one happening just before Christmas. “We’ve got this wonderful artist, Sergio Plata, who’s done some work with us before,” says Masters. “He’s coming in and doing a piЦata installation, which is fantastic. Christmas is a really big festival in Mexico, and they have these amazing parties and it’s really lively and exciting. So he’s going to come in and do these wonderful piЦatas and talk to our visitors about Mexican culture and what happens at that time of year. Then towards the end of the evening we’re going to break one of them open, and get to the treats inside.”
Speaking of treats, another standout will undoubtedly be the chocolate appreciation night. “Our food scientist is going to come in and talk about chocolate,” says Masters. “Where it comes from, how it’s grown, how you cook with it. And she’s also bringing along some incredibly delicious treats for us to sample. I’ll definitely be working that night! She brought in a sample of it all yesterday for me, and it’s amazing.”
For those who like a little music with their food, live acts on tap include guitarist Hector Patricio, DJ Don Juan and the Latin saxophone band Sax Summit, who Masters describes as “fantastic”.
The extended hours also cater to people who might struggle to make it during the day. “Some of this programming, like the Tequila Sunsets and Jurassic Lounge, has really been about getting people in who are working Monday to Friday and who are busy on the weekend. They’re really time-poor, but they want to have great experiences. They can come in and see the exhibit, and we don’t have to have these conversations with them afterwards where they say, ‘Oh, I really wanted to see that and I missed it!’”
Tequila Sunsetsis at theAustralian Museum onThursday nights until Thursday January 29.
