Instead of hosting a traditional museum gala for our 10-year anniversary, Black Cube is headed straight for the afterparty. Step into SWEAT—a fundraising evening where the uninhibited, pulsating beats of nightclub culture meet the nonconformist energy of contemporary art.

SWEAT includes a diverse roster of artists responding to the composition and flow of a nightclub through movement, music, lighting, digital screens, and even… cake! Set at an underground nightclub in Downtown Denver, the evening will unfold through: 

-Original performances by Elle Hong in collaboration with Raw Groove, as well as Laura Shill in collaboration with John Lake and Joshua Ware

-Bold interventions by Anthony Garcia Sr., Joel Swanson, Frankie Toan, and Kaitlyn Tucek in collaboration with chef Morgan Bolling

-Perspiration-inducing sets by Pictureplane, Brothel., and Gamelan Tunas Mekar

Since the 1840s, nightclubs have served as spaces to find catharsis and pleasure in the comfort of darkness. Today, this function remains as crucial as ever, in the wake of political constrictions around sexual expression, queerness, and bodily autonomy. Using the infrastructure of a nightclub as both a physical and conceptual setting, SWEAT invites audiences to join Black Cube somewhere subterranean to explore where joy and liberation can still be found.

As curator Cortney Lane Stell notes: "Both nightclubs and art exhibitions are vital as enduring icons of the necessity of bringing disparate people together. SWEAT is titled as a gesture towards the intimacy of bodies moving on the dance floor and a recognition of the labor of artists and performers."