Janitors Mistakenly Throw Out Champagne Bottle Art Installation

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A team of hardworking Italian cleaners thought they were tidying up after a particularly wild opening party on Friday night at Museion, Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolanzo, Italy. The 300 empty champagne bottles, confetti, and cigarette butts, however, were actually part of an installation by Milanese artists Goldschmied & Chiari.

The piece, titled Where Are We Going to Dance Tonight?, was inspired by the Italy of the 1980s, "a period characterized by consumerism, hedonism, by socialist politicians and their neverending parties," according to themuseum website. Apparently the work was a little too convincing.

The museum's director, Letizia Ragaglia, told Italian newspaper Alto Adigethat the cleaning staff had been warned not to disturb the artwork. "We told them just to clean the foyer because that's where the event on Friday night had been. Evidently, they mistook the installation for the foyer," she lamented, as translated by Local It.

Fortunately, the janitorial staff had conscientiously sorted the artwork into glass and paper for recycling, and the museum expects to be able to salvage and reinstall it. According to the Museion Facebook page, a sign posted at the museum assures visitors "The work will be restored soon.

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