If you build it, they will come. With a little help and a lot of money, art collector Raymond Nasher and architect Rafael ViA±oly went ahead and built it.
And Thursday night, they came in droves.
Students flocked to Devil's Night, a preview of the Nasher Museum of Art and the first major fAªte held in the new building-itself a work of contemporary art.
Though the free wine and the sleek urbanity of the $23-million museum may have lured the masses, the art received no shortage of attention.
Each of the three galleries inside Nasher was packed.
"How often does Duke both open up a place like this and do something like this?" sophomore Alfredo Garcia said, gesturing to students clumped around Degas and Matisse bronzes.
"It's one of those chic, posh sort of things-gotta admit, I feel a little under-dressed," he added.
Nasher will fill an important niche in the arts community-one that has fielded criticism in the past for being myopic and inaccessible.
The museum's completion is a major step in fostering a creative culture on campus, as is its attempt to include students.
Plans to use the museum's interior as a site for events and for education are already underway. A 173-seat auditorium and educational wing are adjacent to the galleries.
"You build the gallery to house the people, and tonight's the night it all came together," President Richard Brodhead said as he mingled among students during the swanky affair.
"Everyone is surprised and it's wonderful," he added.
The large number of students at Devil's Night, Museum Director Kimerly Rorschach said, is a product of concerted outreach efforts.
"Everything was student-organized, and we didn't know what kind of turnout to expect," Rorschach said. "But we've been pleasantly surprised."
The six-member Nasher student advisory board planned the gala and was responsible for its publicity, but Rorschach said she hopes to expand student-curator interaction beyond event planning.
Renowned sculptor Patrick Dougherty will be constructing a hive-like stick sculpture Sunday, the opening day. Students are requested to help him in what Rorschach called a "truly unique opportunity."
Even after Nasher throws its doors open to the public, it will strive to keep students and undergraduate education at the forefront of its mission.
Internships and docent positions will soon be available to qualified students, museum representatives said.
Admission will always be free for current University students.
"I just really like art," freshman Lindsay Bayham said, admiring an oil Alpine landscape. "And I'll come back here-it's such a nice atmosphere."
Such is the goal of Devil's Night and other student-geared programs-to incentivize museum-going across a segmented campus.
But with all that the museum will soon afford in the way of academic opportunities, it was Nasher's speech that proved most welcoming to students.
Nasher, Duke '43, was the last to speak during the formal ceremony, folding his arms conversationally on the podium.
A gnarled marble Marcel Duchamp sculpture peeked out from behind him.
"I'm just so glad you're here," he said.
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