Rockford Art Museum (RAM) opens new feature exhibition Misfits on Friday, Oct. 13, with a preview reception for museum members from 5 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a free public opening from 6:30 to 9 p.m. – and a motorcycle rally from 8 to 10 p.m. ($5 cover, free for RAM members), with live music, cash bar, and food trucks on site. The exhibition remains on view through Jan. 28 at Rockford Art Museum, 711 N. Main St., Rockford.
Rockford Art Museum (RAM) opens new feature exhibition Misfits on Friday, Oct. 13, with a preview reception for museum members from 5 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a free public opening from 6:30 to 9 p.m. – and a motorcycle rally from 8 to 10 p.m. ($5 cover, free for RAM members), with live music, cash bar, and food trucks on site. The exhibition remains on view through Jan. 28 at Rockford Art Museum, 711 N. Main St., Rockford.
Misfits surveys 1960s biker subculture through film, literature, and Danny Lyon’s iconic photography portfolio, The Bikeriders. This 15-week feature exhibition incorporates a portion of that decade’s social landscape, exploring the influence the movement made on filmmakers, authors, and artists during this turbulent era. Included are vintage bikes and ephemera, plus firsthand stories documenting the Rockford motorcycle scene of the 1960s and the impact it had on the country. Full list of related education programs, including the Misfits Movie Monday Film Series (with The Wild Angels, Easy Rider, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), RAM Songwriter Series: Go Go Torpedo and Prairie Smoke, Open Mic Night, and much more at rockfordartmuseum.org.
The feature exhibition is on view at RAM in Funderburg and Kuller Galleries, on the museum’s main level. Concurrent exhibits on view at RAM in Anderson Gallery, on the museum’s lower level, include selections from the Rockford Art Museum Collection – Danny Lyon: Conversations with the Dead (Sept. 29–Feb. 18), New @ RAM: The Charles Beffa Photography Collection and New @ RAM: The Susan and Stephen Pitkin Collection (Nov. 17–Feb. 25).
Misfits is organized by Rockford Art Museum, curated by RAM Curator Carrie Johnson. This exhibition and its related educational programming are sponsored by Women’s Art Board of Rockford Art Museum, and partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and by the Armer Ahlstrand Charitable Foundation. Additional in-kind support provided by Schmeling Building Supply and Signs Now.
MISFITS RELATED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Sponsored by Women’s Art Board of Rockford Art Museum
MISFITS MOTORCYCLE RALLY
FRI, OCT 13, 8–10 PM, $5 COVER (FREE FOR MEMBERS)
LIVE MUSIC, CASH BAR, FOOD TRUCKS
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Join us after the Misfits opening for a motorcycle rally in the Riverfront Museum Park parking lot with food trucks, cash bar by Prairie Street Brewhouse, and live music by psych bands Prairie Smoke (Rockford), Glyders (Chicago), and Moon Rats (Milwaukee). #misfitsrkfd
MOVIE MONDAY FILM SERIES
THE WILD ANGELS | OCT 30
DOORS OPEN 6:30 PM, $5 COVER, CASH BAR
FILM BEGINS AT 7 PM INSIDE STOREFRONT CINEMA
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Our Movie Monday Film Series returns with The Wild Angels, a gritty and exciting entry in the biker film boom of the 1960s from Rodger Corman starring Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra, and Bruce Dern.
RAM SONGWRITER SERIES:
GO GO TORPEDO + PRAIRIE SMOKE
FRI, NOV 10, 6 PM, CASH BAR, $5 COVER
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Come out for a night of live music in the exhibition! Go Go Torpedo—a grinding, driving, blue-collar punk rock band of malcontented Midwest hooligans—is joined by local favorite Prairie Smoke, returning to RAM for a stripped-down set. All ages welcome, music begins at 6:30. #misfitsrkfd
MOVIE MONDAY FILM SERIES
EASY RIDER | NOV 20
DOORS OPEN 6:30 PM, $5 COVER, CASH BAR
FILM BEGINS AT 7 PM INSIDE STOREFRONT CINEMA
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Join us for another Movie Monday featuring Dennis Hopper’s essential exploration of 1960s counterculture Easy Rider, starring Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Jack Nicholson.
DRINKS WITH THE CURATOR
TUE, DEC 5, 6–8 PM, CASH BAR, PAY WHAT YOU CAN
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Talk shop about bikes and Rockford’s motorcycle history in the museum galleries with RAM Curator Carrie Johnson and local bike builders Drew Allen and Ryan Hartman. #misfitsrkfd
MOVIE MONDAY FILM SERIES
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS | DEC 18
DOORS OPEN 6:30 PM, $5 COVER, CASH BAR
FILM BEGINS AT 7 PM INSIDE STOREFRONT CINEMA
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Don’t miss the final installment in our Misfits Movie Monday series, the cult adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas starring Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro, directed by Terry Gilliam.
OPEN MIC NIGHT
WITH THE MAS TEQUILA REVIEW
FRI, JAN 12, 7–9 PM, CASH BAR, PAY WHAT YOU CAN
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Enjoy original poetry or share your own creative voice at this after-hours event hosted by Richard Vargas of Rockford literary publication The Mas Tequila Review. #misfitsrkfd
CUSTOM CRAFT: MOTO PATCH WORKSHOP
TUE, JAN 16, 6–8 PM, CASH BAR, $10 REGISTRATION
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Create original designs and add studs, pins, paint and more to make custom patches that inject some punk flair into your favorite outfit. Cost includes supplies. PLEASE REGISTER BY JAN 10 AT ROCKFORDARTMUSEUM.ORG OR CALL (815) 972-2874.
COFFEE WITH THE CURATOR
FRI, JAN 19, 10–11 AM, PAY WHAT YOU CAN
ROCKFORD ART MUSEUM, 711 N MAIN ST, ROCKFORD
Get a behind-the-scenes look into the process of curating feature exhibition Misfits with RAM Curator Carrie Johnson before it closes Jan. 28!
Rockford Art Museum is a non-profit organization that has been enriching the quality of life for people of all ages through art collection, exhibitions, and education since 1913. Regular admission: $7 adults, $3 students/seniors, with free admission for RAM members and children younger than age 12. Regular hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week. For more information call (815) 968-2787 or go to www.rockfordartmuseum.org.
