LEVEL:zine: “The Target Aesthetic” at The Toby

My new favorite event in Indy happens nearly every Thursday night at The Randall L. and Marianne W. Tobias Theater, also known as The Toby, at the IMA. The newly renovated theatre has a great vibe with great acoustics, ample comfy auditorium seating with places to park your coffee or wine (yes, you can purchase beverages in the lobby) and there is a lovely accessible seating area furnished with easy to move Philippe Starck Ghost Chairs.

Photo snagged from the IMA website.

Under the direction of Anne Laker the theater has been chock-full of interesting film showings, digital art screenings and guest lectures. This Thursday Jeff Carter, senior designer for Target, will be discussing “the retail giant’s democratic design-for-all philosophy and collaborations with designers such as Michael Graves and Isaac Mizrahi.” In the U.S. the top two big box retailers are Wal-mart and Target. While Wal-mart has continually boasted low pricing, Target has always tried to balance celebrating product design with product affordability. It wasn’t until Target started to feature Michael Graves’ housewares that I really took notice of their design awareness. Fourteen years later you can enter just about any department in Target and see a “star” name. I never expected to read: Alexander McQueen for Target. I have high hopes that Thursday’s presentation will be a unique insight into a company that has single handedly brought design awareness to the suburbs. If you are not an IMA member yet, (and why not?!?) hurry and join so you can enjoy this and future presentations at half the price. “The Target Aesthetic” is June 4th at 7:00pm. Ticket prices are $7 Public / $4 Members / $5 Students. Get there a few minutes early to grab a drink and mingle in the lobby. Kudos to Anne for breathing life into this great venue!