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Are You Down For A Butt Hunt At The Art Institute of Chicago?

By Kelly Bauer | April 29, 2016 10:35am | Updated on April 29, 2016 3:04pm
 The Butt Hunt at the Art Institute of Chicago is on May 12.
The Butt Hunt at the Art Institute of Chicago is on May 12.
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Flickr/Cheryl Lindo Jones

DOWNTOWN — Hundreds of people say they're heading to the Art Institute of Chicago to check out butts.

That's not a joke.

The "Butt Hunt" is a scavenger hunt where participants will be looking for famous derrieres amid the museum's collection. More than 300 people have already said they plan to attend on the event's Facebook page, and thousands more said they are interested.

The Butt Hunt is part of an effort by organizers and Rachel Kimpton, Lauren Wiley and Melody Williams to "engage audiences in a different way and also have fun and disrupt the sterile, hush-hush culture that kind of permeates" museums, they said. The three are graduate students from the Art Education Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

"Our student group has been toying around with ideas for how we can better engage adult audiences," Wiley said.

"We wanted to be playful ...," Kimpton added. "We thought that a butt hunt would be fun."

They'll also be "challenging objectification" through the Butt Hunt, the students said.

 

#chicago #sculpture #artinstitute #enchainedaction

A photo posted by Emily ' s Tours (@emily.smithtan) on

Attendees can participate in two contests: They'll compete to get photos of the museum's "juicy gluties" during the Butt Hunt, and then they'll also be challenged to take a photo of a butt and write a caption during the Best Booty contest.

Though they're not yet sure if there will be prizes, Kimpton and Wiley said they're "definitely open to feedback" from those who participate. They hope to host bi-weekly events at the Art Institute as part of their Museum Game Night series.

The organizers are also asking participants to talk to them and other attendees on Twitter: You can tweet at them (@MuseumGameNight) or use the hashtags #ButtHunt and #BestBooty to share your photos, captions and talk with others.

As for which butts they'll be looking at?

"I will say that there is a plentiful amount of juicy booties in the European gallery," Wiley said.

"The statue on the stairs probably wins the hearts of most," Kimpton said, referring to the "juicy gluties" of Enchained Action.

Illinois residents will be able to get into the museum after 5 p.m. and participate in the event for free. The Butt Hunt starts at 5:30 p.m. May 12 at the Art Institute, 111 S. Michigan Ave.

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