10 Years of Phillips after 5

Phillips after 5 just celebrated 10 years of artful evenings! Keith Costas, The Phillips Collection’s Director of Special Events, shared some of his favorite moments with us. 

Did you know:

• When we first started Phillips after 5 we did it every Thursday in August—that’s three in a row!
• It was originally called “Artful Evenings.”
• We’ve had 130 Phillips after 5s, with 93,333 total attendees.
• Each event requires a dozen volunteers from staff.
• Before we went to a ticketed reservation system there was a line all the way to Q Street and in front of the Embassy of India.
• There have been countless marriage proposals.

Programming Highlights

• “Vampires vs. Zombies”: Dancers from The Washington Ballet at THEARC performed excerpts from Michael Pink’s Dracula and Michael Jackson’s Thriller!
• “Seeing Red”: Redheads got in free during the exhibition Van Gogh Repetitions
• Silent disco and punk band Loud Boyz for a Berlin theme during the exhibition featuring German artist Markus Lüpertz
• Speed friending to celebrate Valentine’s Day
• Tiny sailing regatta for a boating theme in the exhibition Renoir and Friends
• Food Truck Fiesta: every August Phillips after 5 we have food trucks stationed around the museum

Most moving and meaningful

• April 2011: After the Tsunami in Japan we partnered with the Red Cross to raise money for the victims and set up a quiet gallery with some of our Japanese works of art for remembrance and reflection.

Check out a few of our favorite shots over the years