Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Leonardo is giving Utahns the opportunity to become a true patron of the arts through the launch of its Leo 500 club in April.
In celebration of leap year and the launch of the Leo 500 club later this year, the Leonardo in Salt Lake City hosted a kick-off dinner event Thursday for the museum's patrons and sponsors.
Meant to display to its patrons the wide scope of subjects that the Leonardo hopes to bring to Salt Lake City, the "Leo 500: The Future of Everything!" dinner treated its guests with the opportunity to engage in intimate conversations with 13 guest speakers about topics in which they are an expert.
A few speakers of note who attended the dinner party included Ben McAdams, former Utah congressman and Salt Lake County mayor; Dr. Manish Parashar, presidential professor of the Kahlert School of Computing at the University of Utah and a well-respected academic figure in the emergent world of artificial intelligence; and Sidni L. Shorter, president and CEO of the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce.
"There are two rules for tonight's engagement: Be respectful and be curious," said Lisa Davis, the chairwoman of the Leonardo's board of directors, welcoming the patrons and sponsors to the dinner event and explaining how the night would be moderated.
Attendees of the dinner event were seated at 13 round dinner tables with an expert speaker seated at each one ready to discuss the topic they are an expert in. Every 20 minutes, attendees switched tables and engaged in a completely new conversations about a different topic. Some of the topics included "The Future of Democracy," "The Future of AI," "The Future of Race" and "The Future of Trees."
Justin Anderson, the Leonardo's director of marketing and events, said the dinner party served as a soft launch of the Leo 500 club and to see if they could foster curiosity and community in a fun, interesting way.
"We're trying to find ways to really bring back the sense of community that's really been missing," Anderson said, referencing a dip in attendance numbers during the pandemic. "We wanted to use the event as a proof of concept to see how appealing the idea of personal connection and discussion was to our guests — and the people loved it!"
Although the Leo 500 club will not officially launch until April 15, in honor of Leonardo Da Vinci's birthday, those who are interested in becoming a part of this community can visit the Leonardo's website to purchase a yearly membership to the Leo 500 club for $375. Members of the Leo 500 club will be invited to attend exclusive events which include social experiences like the dinner party and early previews and exclusive access to upcoming exhibits.
Also included as a benefit of holding a Leo 500 membership is access to an exclusive lounge called the Leo Lounge, which will act as a place where Leo 500 members can come and work in a quiet working space or gather and socialize. Anderson said that the money earned from Leo 500 memberships will go toward improving the museum and sustaining its status as a great resource to Utahns.
"As a call to action and because we are aspirational in our thinking, we just want to encourage everybody to stay curious," Anderson said, speaking on the mission of the Leonardo as a whole and how it hopes to continue to impact Utah's culture in the future.
