If ABBA can come back after a 40-year hiatus, so can the Metal Museum’s Whet Thursdays. Admittedly, Whet Thursdays return every summer, but that doesn’t make this comeback any less special. After all, like ABBA, the museum is ready to embrace your inner ’70s-dream-self with a themed night of Soul ’70s and dressing in your best garb from the disco era.
For this free event, attendees can enjoy an outdoor performance by the five-piece band Soul & Parliament, which blends Motown, funk, and modern R&B. Plus, Opera Memphis will perform during the band’s intermission. Food from Pok Cha’s Egg Rolls and MemPops as well as refreshments from Tipsy Tumbler, which will include a signature ’70s-themed cocktail, will be available to purchase. Guests can also expect lawn games, metalsmithing demonstrations, hands-on activities, and, of course, free admission to the museum and its grounds.
Current exhibitions include “RINGS! 1968-2021” and “Evaluating Essentials.” “RINGS!” features more than 160 rings made of a variety of materials from wood and metals to Keurig cups and found objects. In terms of jewelry, Brook Garcia, collections and exhibitions manager, says, “Rings especially have such deep meanings: engagement rings, wedding rings, graduation rings.” And Garcia points out how rings are also more intimately placed on the body than, say, an earring or a necklace, since we use our hands so frequently to feel and touch, to write and cook, to clap and shake hands.
Meanwhile, “Evaluating Essentials” features work by Becky McDonah, whose metal reliquaries enshrine the simplest of objects like hand sanitizer, shower curtains, and pill bottles. “I would like the viewers to take the time to stop and think about little things that have an impact on their lives or the lives of others around them,” the artist says.
Whet Thursdays will occur on the last Thursday of every month until September, with the last one being members-only. Each event will introduce a new theme.
Whet Thursday, Metal Museum, Thursday, April 28, 6-8 p.m., free.
