How to Behave, How to Amuse

In the context of the exhibition Bourgeois Leftovers, the de Appel Curatorial Programme requests the pleasure of your presence at de Appel arts centre on May 17 for a special evening concocted in collaboration with artist Gabriel Lester. The proceeds of the evening will be invested in the publication concluding the exhibition Bourgeois Leftovers.

The bourgeoisie is a state of mind, not a state of pocket. (Gustave Flaubert)

In the context of the exhibition Bourgeois Leftovers, the de Appel Curatorial Programme requests the pleasure of your presence at de Appel arts centre on May 17 for a special evening concocted in collaboration with artist Gabriel Lester. The proceeds of the evening will be invested in the publication concluding the exhibition Bourgeois Leftovers.

Inspired by bourgeois etiquette and social mores, this evening, which is a unique combination of performance events and a fundraiser, will furnish hints that may prove useful in dealing with social obligations of the most frequent occurrence: parlour etiquette, the exhibition vernissage, the cocktail party. Playing on the bourgeois values we consciously or unconsciously perform, a menagerie of amusements and etiquette lessons have been prepared by artists, curators, and other flâneurs and will be for sale to our guests via a menu. These experiences will be available for this one night only! They are to be experienced immediately after they are purchased, following one convention of the bourgeois sensibility: the expectation of instant gratification.

Entertainment and merriment will be on offer from 7-11 pm, with unique experiences available for purchase from 1-99 euros. For guests that do not wish to purchase an experience, an assortment of tonics and libations will be served. The evening will be hosted by the notorious Gabriel Lester.

Please join us for this celebration of all things bourgeois!

Proceeds from the evening will support the realisation of a publication in tandem with the exhibition, Bourgeois Leftovers. Your personal pleasure thus serves a higher purpose!

Entrance: free

Dress: as bourgeois as you see fit

participants: Mark Jansen, Ana Navas, Daniel Jacoby, Yvonne Grootenboer, Charles Esche, Ann Demeester, Angela Jerardi, Gabriel Lester, Zhana Ivanova, Bart Julius Peters, Eric Giraudet de Boudemange, Vivian Ziherl, Roderick Hietbrink, David Bernstein and Jurgis Paškevičius