Event Production

Creating experiences that make people “stand and stare.”

MoCA Night Market 2026

Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington

Night Market

My Role: Lead Coordinator

The goal of the Night Market was to create energy and excitement outside of the museum to draw people into the overall event, while highlighting vendors and artists selling their work.

I work at Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Arlington and was assigned project lead for the Night Market (2026). This was part of an evening of art at MoCA: outside was the Night Market and inside was Art After Hours, an evening event where the museum showcased new biennial exhibitions with open studios by the artists-in-residence.

My design for the event focused on curating quality work to represent the museum and supporting the vendors and artists as the heroes of this event. I created a layout to encourage optimal interactions and flow among the visitors, artists and vendors. In the end, over 600 people attended the event. Many learned about the event through my marketing efforts, and many also wandered over to join in the excitement!

Marketing

The marketing effort was a combination of getting the word out to vendors and direct reach within the community. Vendors and artists each have their own networks which immediately expanded our reach. For content, I focused on the uniqueness of the venue (Reclining Liberty, Biennial Exhibit) and the opportunity for vendors to join a more elevated event.

The lighting and layout were guided by my desire to create flow and connections. With many entry points to the museum, we decided to create a cross flow that drove traffic from people passing by and encouraged attendees to visit the vendors either before or after their museum experience. We shifted the food providers to both sides of the vendor space to encourage cross traffic and guided the flow organically with lighting. Many commented on the effectiveness of the lighting to create a festive feel and as a simple technique to elevate the event to match the museum exhibit.

On the day of the market, I arrived early to meet with each vendor and to begin work on the layout. I led a team of volunteers throughout the day, who joined to help with setup, breakdown, and the overall logistics of the day.

During setup, we recognized the need to reposition the food vendors to allow for more seating and places for people to enjoy the event without feeling rushed. This required a quick in the moment redesign of lighting to encourage people to wander to the edges of the property. This change had a positive impact on one particular vendor. They very happily sold out of inventory by the end of the evening!

I placed myself at the intersection between the two events (the inside art opening and outside market), in front of the main doors. My goal was to provide a facilitate an in-person connection between the two events.

Other Events at MoCA

Gala and Silent Auction (2026)

• Fundraiser to secure Reclining Liberty as a permanent fixture

(De)monstro: A Participatory Ritual by CRASIS (Performance Art)

Community Clothing Swap

• Figure drawing event to support fall show Merrily We Roll Along

• Created a welcoming environment as soon as people stepped through the door and managed volunteers