Bash Breakdown

Join us at the Mingei Museum in Balboa Park.

5 PM – Preposterous Pleasures: Art, Food, & Drink
Enjoy cocktails, hearty bites, exhibit tours, and hands-on Dada-inspired art activities

7 PM – Dada After Dark
Costume + dance party with a live DJ, cocktails, and curated nonsense

Attire – Wear what you love
Dada costumes encouraged; learn more below

Please note that the UnGala is 21+

Check back here for event updates, ticket sales, and sponsorship opportunities. Want a heads-up when tickets drop? Click below to get notified— early birds get the best price!

Space 4 Art’s inaugural UnGala: A Dada Bash draws inspiration from Dadaism—a short-lived but revolutionary early 1900s movement that embraced absurdity, rejected convention, and redefined what art could be.

For 15 years, Space 4 Art has embodied that same spirit by supporting emerging multidisciplinary artists with affordable, collaborative spaces to create and share their work. Like the Dadaists, we champion experimentation over tradition and community over conformity.

Our UnGala is a celebration of that ethos— a playful, spirited evening of collective creativity in support of San Diego’s artists: the writers, musicians, dancers, actors, and visual storytellers who form the heart of our cultural landscape.

Join us for Dada-inspired art stations, live DJ and dancing, absurd costume and mask contests, delicious food and cocktails, and joyful connection. Your presence supports our mission to build a permanent, large-scale Arts Center where artists can live, work, mentor, and thrive in an affordable, creative community.

Let’s make beautiful nonsense for a good cause— together!

What is Dadaism?

Dadaism was an avant-garde art movement in the early 1900s that rejected traditional art, logic, and reason. With its emphasis on chance, rebellion, and anti-authority, it aimed to shock, provoke, and disrupt conventional norms of art and culture.

In short, Dadaism was less a style and more a spirit— one of protest, unpredictability, and subversion.

What is a Dada costume party?

A Dada costume party is a playful, whimsical event where the goal is not to dress beautifully or logically, but to embrace the weird, random, and nonsensical in a fun and creative way.

What makes a costume Dada?

1. Nonsense Over Style:
Costumes are meant to be irrational or surreal— not polished or elegant. Think socks on your hands, newspaper hats, a mustache on your knee, or a lobster on your head.

2. Mismatched & DIY:
Forget store-bought perfection. Dada fashion is about found objects, clashing patterns, and handmade weirdness. Combine household items, scraps, old costumes, or trash into something totally original.

3. Humor & Satire:
Dadaists loved poking fun at seriousness, politics, and traditional culture. Costumes might reference pop culture absurdly, mock formality, or mash up unrelated ideas (like a Victorian pirate-robot-chef).

4. Embrace the Unexpected:
It's not about looking “good.” It’s about breaking the rules of what a costume should be.

For more Dada costume inspiration and examples, please visit our UnGala FAQs page.

A very special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor:

Thank you for believing in our mission and supporting our goals!

If you would like to join Persient in supporting this event, there are many sponsorship opportunities. We’re excited to create partnerships that last.

To tailor underwriting opportunities that fit your goals, reach out to Michelle Hoyt, Development Associate, at michelle@sdspace4art.org.