Last weekend, the Student Committee for the Rose Art Museum (SCRAM) held their yearly SCRAM Jam celebration. Alexandra Hall ’15 planned the event and had help from the committee and Rose Art Museum staff.
This year, for the first time, SCRAM Jam was held outdoors. The practical reason was that the number of floor pieces and sculptures in the Rose Art Museum this year made it impossible to have a real dance party indoors as SCRAM did not want to risk damaging any of the art on display. “[However], the primary reason was that we wanted to share the new outdoor space under the ‘Light of Reason’ by Chris Burden with the student body. The outdoor sculpture is for students to utilize and with the long winter over, we wanted to remind students that this is a space for them, a space for art and a space for organized and approved events and we invite other clubs and groups to reserve it for their events,” Hall said in an interview with The Brandeis Hoot.
SCRAM’s main purpose is to plan events that provide opportunities for the Brandeis community to be involved with the museum, utilize its resources and connect people of all disciplines here at Brandeis to the arts. The goal of SCRAM Jam in particular is to throw a party for the Brandeis community. The celebration aims to bring as many students to the Rose as possible.
The organization was founded with the opening of the Rose Art Museum back in 1961. Over the years, SCRAM has developed a lot and had a huge role in helping to save the Rose Art Museum during the financial crisis of 2009 when the president of Brandeis wanted to sell the museum’s art collections. SCRAM’s history of activities—aside from SCRAM Jam—includes artist talks, close looking events and professor lectures in the museum. Previously, SCRAM Jam was funded by alumni Alex Barkas ’68 and his wife, Lynda Wijcik, whose idea it was to provide a generous gift to the museum that would allow the students to host SCRAM Jam annually.
Although the weather on the night of SCRAM Jam was a tad chilly, the upbeat music provided by DJ Bosq and Vinyl Canvas created a festive atmosphere, especially for those who were old enough to enter the beer garden. The event, held under the ‘Light of Reason,’ was beautifully lit once the sun set and provided a great outdoor dance floor. DJ Bosq was great to create party vibe that was fun but not crazy. Vinyl Canvas performed a very good set and was quite popular to those who attended.
While it was unfortunate that we could not go indoors, the party was still enjoyable, although not as visually interesting as previous years’ SCRAM Jam celebrations. The night went by flawlessly, even though it was a little sad that the food truck from Tenoch Mexican only served one (delicious) dish. Future SCRAM Jams will be even better if students are allowed to flow in and out of the museum and outdoor space.
Hall, along with the rest of SCRAM wishes for every student to go to the Rose to learn from the exhibits and know that it is a museum for students. Chris Bedford, the director of the Rose, has made it a part of his mission to connect the museum’s goals to the learning goals of the university and promote social justice. Not all students may connect the dots, but two of the exhibits up this semester promote art made by people who were (and are) sidelined in the art world and society: African Americans and women. The museum has had great events partnered with the AAAS department this year to promote more conversation around these issues of social justice in the exhibit New Acquisitions, all artwork by African American men purchased by the Rose within the last 18 months. “I hope more students recognize the importance of the museum and how it can be a resource for them and a space for people to talk about art, meaning, social issues and the act of looking. It’s your museum. Use it!” said Hall.
