The concept: a pastiche of offerings from both studio and performance artists, composing an evening of literary and musical performances, a film screening (Smile, a documentary chronicling reality in the epidemically violent corners of South Chicago), a little gallery walking, and a participatory art installation, for good measure.

The installation, conceived and contributed by Lakeview’s Bottle & Bottega, featured a papier máché recreation of the Chicago skyline, serving as canvas to a crowd-sourced mural.

And for those who came to peruse and not to paint, select participants in the Rise Artists Prospectus competition had work on display throughout the open loft-style lobby, ranging from sculpture and installation to paintings, mixed media, and glass etching. The pieces were judged, and the artist selected for the most promising work wins a 3-month Artist in Residency space at the Lacuna Lofts, and $200 at Blick Art Stores.

And before you practice your pinkie raising and start polishing the cufflinks, remember: it’s a goddamn party. Revolution Brewery and Tito’s vodka held down a hosted bar that lasted until late in the night. A portion of the proceeds for the event went to the Young Chicago Authors association, who featured readings and literary performances early in the evening, which gave way to a host of DJs, including local favourites Team Bayside High, as well as a genre-pushing performance from frenetic electro-instrumental indie-pop group, Gemini Club.

Running a feature in conjunction with Uber (an exceptionally awesome smartphone cab-hailing app), attendees were whisked to and from the event with ease and convenience. Whether or not they remembered the return trip? We’re lookin’ at you Tito’s.

See more photos from the RISE party here.

The post Five Happy Hours and a Happening: The Numbered Days, RISE appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Sin Label hooked up DJs Superfriends and Kody Madro with the event to lay out a dub and EDM-heavy soundtrack. Free beer from Revolution Brewery for the first hour ushered the majority of attendees in the door early, with the sold-out event rounding out completely around 10:30. The smilebooth snapped group shots for posterity, while Bottle & Bottega’s collaborative group mural, done paint-by-numbers style by members of the crowd, filled in throughout the evening. Local artists Free Kids set the cherry atop the evening with a group of neon glow stick-filled piñatas: glowing human bodies with giraffe heads, floating above the crowd, and occasionally kicking Quip members in the face. Fucking. Awesome. But why, you ask?

Marc Uible, like others of the millennial mindset, noticed a problem: the sort of congregating we do in cyberspace has gone un-paralleled by real world space. Uible posits that while the hyper-democratization of information and socializing on the internet has developed our ability to engage with the niche topics that interest us, physical spaces for like minds to congregate around those topics haven’t evolved at the same pace. Or maybe at all. Uible’s remedy: partying.

His event company, the Numbered Days, hosted 4 parties last year, and aims to host 11 more this year. So if your hyper-niche interest isn’t in glowing giraffe-headed piñatas or collaborative murals, remain calm. The Numbered Days has more to come.

See more photos on our Facebook page here, tag yourself in one while you’re at it.

The post The Numbered Days Loft Party takes over Chicago appeared first on Quip Magazine.