Where can I park?
The Alcazar Parking Lot and the Organ Pavillion Lot are the closest lots to the Mingei Museum. Uber/Lyft can drop off at the front of The Mingei and guests can walk around to the back entrance for our event.
Where should I enter?
Enter the Mingei Museum through the Alcazar Garden entrance in back, not the front entrance off the street.
Is this a formal event?
What is the evening’s schedule?
What is Dadaism?
What is a Dada costume party?
What makes a Dada costume?
Must I wear a costume?
Should I arrive in costume?
How can I make a costume during the UnGala?
What should I bring to the Make Your Own Costume station?
What shouldn’t I bring to the costume station?
What will S4A provide at the costume station?
What are some examples of Dada costumes?
What food and drinks will be provided?
What art activities may I participate in?
What if I’m not very artistic?
Will there be an auction or a raffle?
No tuxes or gowns are needed, unless it’s part of your nonsensical Dada costume! Come dressed comfortably (or in costume) to socialize, make non-messy art, and dance the night away.
5:00 PM Food & drinks, guided art activities (Exhibit tours at 5:30 and 6:00 PM)
7:00 PM Music & dance, more drinks, costume fun
Dadaism, or Dada, was an avant-garde art movement that began around 1916 in Zurich, Switzerland, during the chaos of World War I. It was a radical, anti-establishment movement that rejected traditional art, logic, reason, and the values of a capitalist, war-driven society. Dadaists aimed to shock, provoke, and disrupt conventional norms of culture and art.
Although Dada was relatively short-lived (roughly 1916–1924), it had a profound impact on later art movements like Surrealism, Fluxus, Pop Art, and Conceptual Art. Its emphasis on chance, rebellion, and anti-authority continues to influence contemporary art and culture.
In short, Dadaism was less a style and more a spirit— one of protest, unpredictability, and subversion.
A Dada costume party is a playful, whimsical event inspired by the Dada art movement of the early 20th century. The goal at these parties is not to dress beautifully or logically, but to embrace the weird, random, and nonsensical in a fun and creative way.
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.
Of course not! After all, Dadaism rejected conformity. But we sure hope you’ll embrace the absurd and try creating a costume while you’re with us.
You may arrive in full costume, partial costume, or no costume at all. The costume contests won’t begin until after 7 PM.
You may create one at our Make Your Own Costume station. We only ask you to bring a few unwanted personal/household items to contribute to the station. See examples below.
Bring a few unwanted trinkets, doodads, baubles, or bits to trade at our Make Your Own Costume station. Then choose items donated by others to assemble your own creative, nonsensical costume. In Dadaism, nothing is logical!
Bring a few unwanted trinkets, doodads, baubles, or bits to trade and create.
Translation: Donate a few personal or household items (even parts of old costumes) to the station. You won’t get these items back. Remember, in Dadaism, anything goes and nothing needs to make sense!
Clothing, outwear, shoes, socks, nylons (mismatched, stained, or torn is ok)
Accessories like jewelry, belts, wigs, neckties, bows, gloves, hats, scarves
Blankets, sheets, fabrics (stained or tattered is ok– we can cut around it!)
Small household items like pots, lids, ladles, lamp shades, pillows, artificial plants, defunct charging cords, broken umbrellas
Old toys, game pieces, rubber bugs, sports balls, hula hoops, stuffed animals
Unwanted random materials like rope, twine, string, pool noodles, cardboard, nets, tin foil, waxed paper, plastic cling wrap, cheesecloth, pipe cleaners, ribbon, yarn, magazines, newspaper, egg cartons, bubble wrap, zip ties, straws, buttons, toilet paper & paper towel tubes,
Paper plates, cups, plastic utensils, bibs
Bags of any size and any material - plastic, fabric, leather, paper
The more ridiculous, the better!
Please don’t bring glass items, weapons, or make up.
In addition to a “starter pile” of trinkets, doodads, baubles, and bits of our own, we’ll provide costume or mask construction supplies like:
Scissors
Glue
Fishing line
Twine
Safety pins
Clothes pins
Sharpies & markers
Paper
Fabric scraps
Baubles
Jumbo popsicle sticks
Pipe cleaners
This will not be a formal dinner event, but our friends at Alchemy - Choose Thy Poison will offer delicious meat and vegan options from 5-7 PM, and open bar from 5-9 PM, including cocktails, beer, wine, and a variety of non-alcoholic beverages.
There will be one “group art” activity where everyone contributes a small part to a finished group product, in addition to two Dada-inspired creation stations. All activities chosen will allow easy no-mess participation, and artists will be on hand to guide your participation in each activity. Finally, some artists will also lead mini-tours of one of the museum’s exhibits, so you can hear an artist’s perspective and reactions to some of the displays.
That’s ok! The beauty of Dadaism is that it rejects traditional art and embraces unpredictability as well as the silly, absurd, and non-conventional. So anything you create will be an exercise in freedom and expression. Take a chance and create something; the sky's the limit!
No, but we will share a donation QR code with all attendees. A few weeks after the event, once the group art project has been fully assembled, we will offer it for a silent auction item during our December 13 Open Studios, held at Space 4 Art’s facility at 340 16th St.
