Sarasota, FL – Dec. 12, 2011 – The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art today announced the recent acquisition of Double Trouble, 2002, the first painting in the Ringling Museum’s permanent collection by noted Florida artist George Pappas. The large oil painting, part of a larger series of abstract paintings titled Barriers, is set to join the Ringling’s 20th century Abstract Art from the permanent collection displayed in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing. Double Trouble will be on exhibition from December 5, 2011.
“Double Trouble reflects Pappas’s oeuvre and is a representation of the artist’s mature abstract work,” said Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “It is an outstanding example of the ‘Art of Our Time,’ and an important addition to works by other celebrated Florida artists, such as Syd Solomon, already in the permanent collection.”
The Ringling’s purchase of Double Trouble is made possible through a generous donation by collector Henry V. Heuser, Jr., a resident of Louisville, KY, and frequent visitor to Sarasota.
Pappas’s paintings have been shown throughout the United States in more than 150 juried exhibitions, including the Corcoran Biennial, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. His work is included in numerous private and public art collections, including The National Gallery of Art, The deCordova Museum, Des Moines Museum, Tampa Museum, and the Neiman Marcus Corporation. George Pappas’s impact on the arts in Florida, both as a pedagogue and practicing artist, is well known.
Born in Boston, MA, George Pappas grew up in New York City and New England. He holds degrees from The Massachusetts College of Art (BS) Harvard University (MA with study at M.I.T.), and Penn State University (Ed.D.). Pappas was the Chair of the Department of Art at the University of South Florida. He has also held faculty positions at Northern Iowa University and Penn State University.
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Sarasota, FL – December 6, 2011 – On December 22nd, the Winter Solstice, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art will open its Skyspace, created by the internationally renowned artist, James Turrell. At more than 3,000 sq. ft. it is the largest Skyspace yet created, featuring a 24 ft. square aperture in the canopy 35 ft. above and a central colonnade composed of columns 20 ft. high. Located in the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation Courtyard of the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing of the Ringling Museum of Art, this is the only Skyspace in Florida and one of only two public Skyspaces on the East Coast.
“The Skyspace created by James Turrell is one of the most important acquisitions in the Ringling Museum’s history,” said Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “It changes all of your notions of the museum experience, placing you in what feels like your own private world. In today’s digital age, where we are bombarded with emails, tweets, photos and Facebook messages, James Turrell’s Skyspace transports us to a contemplative place where we feel a deepened connection to the very essence of our being and the environment.”
Sitting on precisely angled benches constructed of reclaimed cypress, the viewer’s attention is subtly lifted to the 24 foot square aperture in the center of the canopy. So precise is the ‘razor edge’ of the aperture that the sky overhead becomes, in Turrell’s words a, “plane in the sky.” Through the use of LED, synchronized with the changing seasons, James Turrell is able to manipulate the viewer’s optical response to the sky as seen through the aperture. At dawn or dusk, a program of changing colored light, bathing the interior of the space, shifts the viewer’s perception of the sky from space, to void, to “solid” as the artist “changes” the color of the sky. The Skyspace seats 56 people and also includes creeping jasmine and fig so that over time it will become a lush, tropical environment mirroring its Florida locale.
“It is symbolic that as 2011 comes to a close, the 100 year anniversary of John and Mable purchasing property on what are today the grounds of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, that their Museum houses the work of one of the leading artists of the 21st century, to be enjoyed and studied by this and future generations,” added High.
Born in Los Angeles, James Turrell is one of the most influential contemporary artists at work today. James Turrell was born in 1943 in Los Angeles. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in experimental psychology at Pomona College at Claremont, California in 1965, followed by a Master’s degree in Art from Claremont Graduate School in 1973. His work is represented in numerous public collections, including the Tate Modern, London; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and the Israel Museum Jerusalem. The James Turrell Museum opened in Colomé, Argentina in 2009. His solo exhibitions include Stedlijk Museum (1976); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1980); Israel Museum (1982); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1984); MAK, Vienna (1998-1999); Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh (2002-2003); and “The Wolfsburg Project” (2009-2010), Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany. The concept of Skyspaces is closely connected to the creation of the Roden Crater Project in the Arizona desert. Since 1974, Turrell has been converting the Roden Crater – an extinct volcano on the edge of the Painted Desert, near Flagstaff, where Turrell has lived since 1979 – into an observatory. Visitors, students and faculty are invited to browse books about James Turrell’s work in The Ringling Museum of Art Library, located in the Johnson-Blalock Education Center on the Ringling estate.
The Skyspace is the foundation for the Ringling’s Art of Our Time initiative, which reflects the Museum’s efforts to promote understanding of and appreciation for the contemporary visual and performing arts by showcasing works from artists, such as James Turrell, that are profoundly influencing our culture. The Skyspace was made possible through the generous support of Peter and Pam Vogt, Dick and Betty Nimtz and Bev Koski and her late husband Bob Koski.
The Skyspace will officially open during Greet the Light: Solstice Celebration in the Courtyard taking place from 8:00 p.m. to midnight on the Winter Solstice, Dec. 22, 2011. Patrons will be among the first to experience the Skyspace, while enjoying music by a DJ, dancing, and cash bar/food in the splendor of the Museum Courtyard. Tickets are $20 advance / $25 at the door; members $10 advance/$15 at the door.
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Sarasota, FL – November 21, 2011 – The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art hosts its ninth annual Holiday Splendor benefitting the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties drive on Thursday, December 1, 2011 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Hundreds of local school children perform holiday classics in the festive looking Museum of Art Courtyard and Bolger Campiello by the Ca’ d’Zan mansion. Admission is free with a donation, per person, of an unwrapped toy and to children under 5. Without a toy, it’s $10 for adults and $5 for children 6-17. It includes the Ca’ d’Zan, Museum of Art, the Tibbals Learning Center and Circus Museum, which are all open for the occasion.
“Holiday Splendor at the Ringling Museum is a magical evening where our local school children, the community, the Museum staff and volunteers, as well U.S. Marine Corps of Sarasota and Manatee Counties all come together to lend their time and talents for such a great cause,” said Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “This popular event, now an annual tradition at the Ringling, is in keeping with our mission to engage visitors with our collections, exhibitions, cultural programs, and the Ringling Estate.”
Last year, the Museum collected more than 1,500 toys which were donated to grateful children in both counties. More than 300 children performed. This year includes performances in the Museum of Art Courtyard by Island Village Montessori North and South Campuses; Good Shepherd Lutheran School; The Advanced Jazz Band from Electa Lee Magnet Middle School; Manatee School for the Arts "MSA Dancers"; and the Jazz Combo at Sarasota High School.
Entertaining at the Bolger Campiello by the Ca’ d’Zan are the chorus and violin groups at Bay Haven School of Basics Plus; the boys choir at Rowlett Magnet Elementary School; the choir and violin groups at Phillippi Shores IB World School; the jazz band from Mcintosh Middle School. The drumline from Sarasota Military Academy marches their way from the Ca’ d’Zan to the Visitors Pavilion. Also, Gene Kratzman and the Museum’s Douglas Kingsley play the piano at the Ca’ d’Zan starting at 6 p.m.
A full bar and snacks will be available for cash purchase at the Ca’ Café and in the Museum of Art Courtyard. Treviso will be open for dinner. For more information, call 941-359-5700 ext. 5705.
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Sarasota, FL – November 10, 2011 – The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and Circus Sarasota have partnered to introduce the Museum’s newest Youth and Family Program connecting visitors to circus celebrities. Center Ring Saturdays are included free with Museum admission and offers a behind-the-scenes look and backstage pass into the magical world of the circus.
“Center Ring Saturdays at the Ringling Museum is an affordable way for families to learn the art, skills, and science behind the magic of a circus performance,” explained Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “We’ve recently reduced our daily Museum admission for children by 50 percent to make programs like Center Ring Saturdays more accessible to the community we serve.”
The program highlights the collections of the Ringling Circus Museum, one of the richest in the nation and Bay area with its vast array of memorabilia and artifacts, with the stars and circus professionals from Circus Sarasota. Children get the inside scoop from center ring stars about their performance art with time built in for autographs, photos with the celebrity, art making activities and storytelling.
Each participant receives their own V.I.P. card and book for collecting autographs and photos. Participants meet under the Big Top entrance to the Ringling Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center. Center Ring Saturdays are held in the Tibbals Learning Center’s newest interactive exhibition space from noon to 2:00 p.m. every second Saturday of each month starting November 12.
The schedule for Center Ring Saturdays is as follows.
November 12, 2011: The Art of the Aerialist. Dolly Jacobs, known as The Queen of the Air and Co-Founder of Circus Sarasota, grew up in Sarasota and later joined her family travelling with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and many other circus internationally. She will share what it was like to live life in the circus and what it takes to be an outstanding aerialist.
December 10, 2011: Silly School. Karen Bell and Robin Eurich are professional clowns who have years of performance experience with Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus and currently perform with Circus Sarasota. They will share the art of “clowning around” with children of all ages.
January 14, 2012: A Balancing Act. Imagine balancing a brother or sister on your feet while doing a handstand. Johnny Yong, one of the best hand-to-hand balancers to ever grace the stage, talks about behind-the-scenes at the circus and describes what it was like to travel around the world with the circus.
February 11, 2012: Growing Up Circus. Axel Perez, a circus celebrity at 12 years old, is a talented skateboarder whose skills translated into the Rola Bola, a teetering circus act. He will share the inside scoop about what it is like to be one of the youngest performers under the big top today.
March 10, 2012: On the Road Again. Circus clowns Chuck Sidlow and Billy-Bob Steinberg both professionals with Circus Sarasota will share their life on the “sawdust trail,” bringing mirth and merriment to thousands.
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Sarasota, FL —Sept. 30, 2011 — Sure to spark the curiosity and senses of visitors keen on experiencing the visual and performance art of mechanized kinetic sculptures during the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival (RIAF) is a fascinating exhibition entitled Zimoun: Sculpting Sound. The Swiss artist Zimoun showcases his unique installations of sound and movement. It is part of the festival’s RIAF 360º Experience, a variety of exhibitions, performances, forums and tours that are in addition to the stage performances.
“This will be the first showing of Zimoun’s work in Florida and one of the few showings of his work in the United States,” explains Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “His installations are immersive environments of sound and motion using low-tech motors and devices. His pieces reveal a complex, intricate relationship between the aural and the visual.”
The Swiss artist Zimoun blends elements of sound, sculpture, mechanics, and engineering into unique sensory experiences redefining traditional notions of sculpture and sonic performance. Zimoun creates sound pieces from basic components, often using multiples of the same prepared mechanical elements to examine the creation and degeneration of patterns. He provides numerous opportunities for discussions about the nature of sculpture, sound, and art itself. The work also lends itself to discussions of kineticism in both the visual and performing arts and ways in which artists work collaboratively and in interdisciplinary ways.
The exhibition runs from October 1, 2011 through January 8, 2012. Its opening coincides with the Ringling International Arts Festival, a centerpiece of the Museum’s Art of Our Time. This initiative is part of the Ringling’s renewed commitment to modern and contemporary art, encompassing performing and visual art. The six-day festival features performing artists from around the world. Zimoun will complement the diverse offering of international performing artists featured. RIAF is a partnership between the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York.
Festival-goers are invited to be a part of a Living Zimoun on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 2:15 to 4 p.m. in the Museum of Art Courtyard. Hundreds of people are expected to create a work of art using paddle balls by bouncing a small rubber string ball attached by elastic to a flat paddle as many times as possible in succession to create Sarasota’s largest, loudest, and most lively work of art ever. There is also a lively and interactive exploration of kinetic dance featuring The Florida State University School of Dance/Contemporary Dance in Florida that afternoon.
The RIAF 360º Experience includes admission to this additional programming as well as the venues of the Ringling Museum for only $10 for adults and $5 for children 5-16. All RIAF 360° exhibitions and programs are included with a Ringling Museum admission ticket for that day. Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, Sunday until 5:00 p.m.
To purchase tickets, contact The Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at 941.360.7399 or visit www.ringlingartsfestival.org
The Zimoun exhibition was supported by Pro Helvetia.
]]>SARASOTA MAYOR SUZANNE ATWELL TO DESIGNATE SEPTEMBER 24
AS “DAY TO CELEBRATE JOHN AND MABLE RINGLING”
Sarasota, FL — Sept. 16, 2011 — Mayor Suzanne Atwell will be on hand at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 24, 2011 to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of John and Mable Ringling’s legacy and vision in Sarasota in honor of the Ringlings purchasing property in Sarasota. One hundred years ago, John Ringling, the circus king, financier and art collector, and his wife Mable, founder of The Sarasota Garden Club, laid down roots in Sarasota. The proclamation ceremony will take place at the Bolger Campiello at the Ca’ d’Zan on the grounds of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The public is invited to attend.
In 1911, John and Mable Ringling purchased Palms Elysian, a wood frame house located on the Shell Beach subdivision on what are today the grounds of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. The venture proved a huge catalyst for Sarasota and the State of Florida. Their legacy and vision continues to endure and grow, reflected and preserved around the city and county of Sarasota, as well as in the galleries, grounds, gardens of the museum.
In keeping with John Ringling’s realized vision of Sarasota as a top destination, his circus roots and tradition of giving back to the community, the museum has a special commemoration planned today to honor John and Mable Ringling. Complimentary admission to all venues, grounds and gardens will be extended to all visitors on September 24, which also marks Smithsonian National Museum Day.
Also on this commemorative day, the museum is previewing a new $7.5 million addition to the Ringling Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center. Home to the largest miniature circus in the world, the Ringling Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center has grown more colossal thanks to the generosity of Howard Tibbals, philanthropist and circus model builder who is the architect of the miniature circus. Building on Sarasota’s circus heritage and moniker as Circus City USA, children of all ages can step right up to the Ringling Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center and its new 11,000 square foot addition. This interactive exhibition space provides a snapshot of the atmosphere, drama, energy and excitement of a day at the circus. It celebrates the legendary performers of the big top, including the acrobats, aerialists and daredevils, many of whom made Sarasota and its neighboring cities home.
This is the first of many important milestones and anniversaries in the years ahead associated with the Ringlings. Centennial celebrations will continue through the 2011/12 season at the museum. Details are posted at www.ringling.org. The community is also invited to share news of their Ringling 100th anniversary events, which the museum will post on its website. The legacy and vision of the Ringlings can be experienced 362 days a year at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
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Sarasota, FL —Aug. 31, 2011 — With SYCO/Columbia Records’ September release of Jackie Evancho’s
Dream with Me In Concert on DVD and live CD/DVD set, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla. -- the picturesque setting for Jackie’s Great Performances PBS special seen on the DVD -- is offering 2 for 1 admission this September. The museum is participating in “30 Days of Discovery,” a promotion being sponsored by the Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau. Jackie’s debut solo concert, recorded at the Ringling Museum in April, was co-produced by SYCO/Columbia Records and THIRTEEN for WNET, one of America’s most prolific and respected public media partners. Hugely popular, it has been seen in 45 states and by more than 90 percent of all U.S. TV households. The DVD and live CD/DVD set will be released Sept. 13.
“The concert was a dream come true for me,” said Jackie Evancho. “The Ringling Museum is a big, beautiful place and I had such a great time there. My favorite part was the Peter Paul Rubens [art] gallery." The special’s co-host David Foster added, “The Ringling Museum is just magnificent. The venues, including the spectacular Museum of Art Courtyard, really added to the spectacle and excitement of that momentous day for Jackie, which marked her first solo concert.”
Visitors can trace Jackie’s footsteps at the Ringling Museum, which is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of John and Mable Ringling’s purchase of property in Sarasota that today is the Museum’s grounds. John, the circus king who built up the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus “The Greatest Show on Earth”, financier and art collector, and his wife Mable, laid down roots in Sarasota in 1911. One of the largest museum/university complexes in the nation, the Ringling Museum preserves the legacy and vision of John and Mable Ringling.
“Thanks to the PBS television special, the Ringling Museum has been invited into the living rooms of millions of Americans from coast-to-coast,” said Steven High, executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “With two for one admission in September, now is a great time to visit Sarasota/Manatee and come experience the galleries, grounds and gardens of the Ringling Museum where Jackie performed, as well as purchase the DVD or CD/DVD set of Jackie in concert at the Ringling Museum at the Museum Store.”
As Jackie did, visitors can gaze in awe at the towering tapestries in the Rubens gallery in the Museum of Art where she performed “Dark Waltz”. They can marvel at the Italianate Museum of Art Courtyard with its magnificent loggia, casts of original antiquities and renaissance sculptures, and towering 16-foot bronze cast replica of David by Michelangelo, where she sang “All I Ask of You,” “Angel,” and “Nessun Dorma”. They can see the enchanting Ca’ d’Zan mansion with its stunning Venetian-Gothic architecture, lavish décor and interior furnishings, where Jackie sang “Ombra Mai Fu.” They can step right up to the Circus Museum where Jackie and David Foster are seen on the DVD viewing the museum’s permanent collection, including historic circus wagons and Bruno Zacchini’s Super-Repeating Cannon, which propelled a “human cannonball” at speeds of 125 mph during the circus. They can stroll inside Mable Ringling’s Rose Garden, where Jackie is seen opening the PBS special seated at the central gazebo with its wrought iron dome, surrounded by roses of varying sizes, shapes and colors. There are more than 1,000 varieties to explore.
In addition to discovering the gardens, grounds and museums, September also marks the opening of The Amazing American Circus Poster exhibition. The exhibit tells the story of the immense impact the circus had on American culture through the lens of 80 bombastic circus posters made in America, and produced in Cincinnati by the Strobridge Lithographing Company. The exhibited works span the time of P.T. Barnum’s “The Greatest Show on Earth” to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The exhibition runs from September 17, 2011 to January 29, 2012 in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing of the Museum of Art.
Asian art is also being showcased throughout September. The Art of Jade exhibition presents exquisitely chiseled objects from this hard stone fashioned chiefly during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The Crosscurrents of Design: Asian Export Ceramics exhibition features ceramics produced in Vietnam, Thailand, China and Japan for export during the fifteenth through twentieth centuries. These two exhibitions will continue through September and close in October.
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THE RINGLING INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL
Sarasota, FL —Aug. 29, 2011 — With Opening Night still almost two months away, sales for the upcoming Ringling International Arts Festival have prompted organizers to increase the array of the festival programming with RIAF 360º - “everything before, after, during, and all around RIAF 2011.”
The Ringling International Arts Festival, launched in 2009 and now known popularly as RIAF, is presented by The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center of New York. From October 11-16, the theaters, galleries, and grounds of the Ringling Center for the Arts in Sarasota are the setting for six days of music, theater, dance, art exhibitions and more. The powerful combination of relatively brief programs (most performances last 60 minutes or less) and affordable pricing (tickets start at just $20) is credited by many as the cause for the new festivals early success.
“We still have hundred of great seats,” said Dwight Currie, Festival Director, “but tickets are going fast. In the past month, we have seen a jump in ticket buying for all eight core productions, but every seat in these theaters is a good seat.”
With the anticipation that festival stage productions will be sold out, organizers have in turn increased ancillary programming and reduced museum admission prices so that more people can experience RIAF 2011. Oct. 12 through Oct. 16, admission to all the venues of the Ringling Museum is only $10 for adults and $5 for children 5-16. The ticket includes the RIAF 360º Experience of exhibitions, performances, forums and tours that occur before, during, and after the stage productions.
For RIAF 2011, the 360° offers a showcase exhibition of the mechanized kinetic sculptures of Swiss artist Zimoun, the Festival Forum with the Ringling Museum’s new Executive Director Steven High moderating two panels of arts professionals about the rewards and risks of creating, producing, and presenting contemporary visual and performance art; Jazz Sunsets on the Bay presented by the Jazz Club of Sarasota; Ringling Legacy/ RinglingVision a special estate tour celebrating the 100th anniversary of John and Mable Ringling’s arrival in Sarasota, and Sculpting Sound / Sculpting Light a lively and interactive exploration of kinetic sculpture and dance in the Courtyard of the Museum of Art.
“We wanted to make RIAF and the 360º Experience accessible and affordable for practically anyone,” said Currie. “For as little as $10 festival patrons can experience the electric atmosphere, and excitement of this festival.”
The Ringling International Arts Festival is part of the Ringling Museum’s Art of Our Time initiative and its renewed commitment to modern and contemporary art, encompassing performing and visual art. To purchase tickets, contact The Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at 941.360.7399 or visit www.ringlingartsfestival.org
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Step Right Up to the Home of the World’s Largest Miniature Circus and its New
Adjoining $7.5 Million Facility Packed with Family-Friendly, Interactive Circus Fun
Sarasota, FL —June 27, 2011 — From Boston to Biloxi, Savannah to San Francisco, as well as hundreds of stops across the U.S. and Canada, the circus and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus The Greatest Show on Earth, never ceased to astonish, thrilling millions of people. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s Circus Museum in Sarasota recaptures the spectacle of the big top with a new attraction that spotlights the center ring performers: the acrobats, aerialists, daredevils, animal trainers, and ringmaster.
On Saturday, September 24, 2011, the doors swing open to the public on a new $7.5 million, 24,475 square-foot addition to the Tibbals Learning Center, part of the Circus Museum. Children-of-all-ages are invited to experience the atmosphere, energy and excitement of a day at the circus. Coinciding with Smithsonian National Museum Day, admission is free that day to the Circus Museum and the 66-acre estate of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, site of the Ca’ d’Zan mansion and Museum of Art.
“We’ve re-created the magic of the big top here at the Circus Museum, expanding America’s first circus museum,” explained Steven High, Executive Director of the Ringling Museum. “It’s a great place for families, circus enthusiasts, and adventure seekers to have lots of fun and enjoy the legacy left by the museum’s founder and circus king John Ringling, one of the five brothers who created the Ringling Bros. Circus.”
He added, “This new state-of-the-art facility that adjoins the Tibbals Learning Center, home of the world’s largest miniature circus created by Howard Tibbals, forever preserves an important part of American culture. It provides teachable moments for this and future generations about the history of circus performance art from the nineteenth century until present day.”
The $7.5 million dollar LEED addition, located on the west of the Tibbals Learning Center, is capable of withstanding a Category 4 Hurricane. It is generously funded by philanthropist and master circus model builder Howard Tibbals, whose contribution to the Circus Museum and Tibbals Learning Center totals $10.5 million.
Visitors enter the 11,000 square-foot first floor, where they learn about the circus parade used at the turn of the century to advertise the circus at each railroad stop. The main gallery focuses on the main event of circus day: the big top performance. It is broken down into nine spotlighted areas: acrobats and aerialists; featured animal acts and animal trainers; circus clowns; daredevils; ringmaster; spectacle; interactive circus family area; theater; and education space. The exhibits explore the common ties that link all circuses past and present. It features the different center ring acts and their contributions to the exhilarating drama that unfolded before audiences in North American cities big and small, such as Okmulgee, Okla; Altoona, Pa.; Texarkana, Ark.; Missoula, Mont.; Chico, Calif.; Moose Jaw, Sask.; Owatonna, Minn.; Yankton, S.D.; Moberly, Mo.; Gloversville, N.Y.; Paducah, Ky.; Emporia, Kan.; Sheboygan; Wis.; and Tyler, Texas, just to name a few.
Legendary performers come to life through interactive exhibits featuring video clips and photos of their gravity and death-defying feats. Among those highlighted are Karl Wallenda on the highwire, clown Lou Jacobs, and aerialist Dolly Jacobs “aka Queen of the Air” renowned for her Roman Rings routine. There are also plenty of participatory experiences for visitors, like walking the tightrope, fitting into a model of a 2-foot by 3-foot car made famous by Lou Jacobs, superimposing faces onto replicas of circus posters. The new exhibition space also tells the story of the overall performance design, music and costumes of the circus.
"We want to show respect and honor the people who made Sarasota the epicenter of the American circus," said Deborah Walk, Tibbals Curator of the Ringling Circus Museum.
The 12,000 square-foot, second floor houses the Tibbals Center for the Study of the American Circus, an educational facility for circus research by scholars and curators. Equipped with state-of-the-art LED lighting, it includes storage space for historical circus artifacts, such as Barnum and Bailey Circus scrapbooks, posters, heralds, and photos.
Drawing from the Circus Museum’s collection and helping connect how the circus came to be such a must-see and colossal attraction, the Museum is also showcasing a collection of bombastic circus posters that advertised the center ring attractions. The Amazing American Circus Poster: The Strobridge Lithographing Company, 1878-1939 exhibition showcases the cultural influence of the circus with works spanning from the time of P.T. Barnum’s The Greatest Show on Earth to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. The exhibition draws from the collections of the Ringling Museum, Howard Tibbals, and The Cincinnati Art Museum. Co-organized by the Ringling Museum and Cincinnati Art Museum, it focuses on the work that Strobridge did for circuses. Taking place in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing of the Museum of Art, the exhibition runs from Sept. 17, 2011 to January 29, 2012.
Originally conceived to house the fine art collected by circus magnate John Ringling, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art opened in October 1931. It became the property of the state of Florida when John Ringling died in 1936. Established in 1948, the Circus Museum was the first in the country to document the rich history of the circus. The Tibbals Learning Center opened in 2006. The state assigned The Florida State University governance of the museum in 2000.
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Sarasota, FL – June 27, 2011 – Before television, radio, film and the Internet, the circus was America’s colossal entertainment industry. Circus owners enticed massive crowds with brilliantly colored, boldly bombastic posters that advertised never seen before attractions, performers and animals from all corners of the globe, including Jumbo the Elephant and Gargantua The Great, as well as new innovations such as the automobile and electrical lights.
The Amazing American Circus Poster: The Strobridge Lithographing Company, 1878-1939 showcases the cultural influence of the circus on America in a special exhibition at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla., that runs from Sept. 17, 2011 to January 29, 2012.
The works exhibited span from the time of P.T. Barnum’s greatest show on earth to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The traveling exhibition opened in February at the Cincinnati Art Museum and is currently running through July 10, 2011.
“At the beginning of the twentieth century in America, the major holidays were the Fourth of July, Christmas, and the day the circus came to town,” said Steven High, executive director of the Ringling MuseumRingling earning Center and reated by Howard Tibbals, Mable Ringling Museum of Art and strength, the circus poster in the late n. “Circus owners relied on posters to advertise the show and to fuel excitement so that the colossal tents were filled with children of all ages. When it came to producing incredible poster designs and reliable delivery, the Strobridge Lithographing Company based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was the industry leader.”
With an array of dates and show titles, the posters in the exhibition range from the image of the woman, horse and clown, done by the American impressionist Edward Henry Pottast (1857-1927) to the romantic Ringling Bros. poster of In Days of Old, to iconic image of the leaping tiger. All 80 circus posters displayed in the Ulla. R and Arthur F. Searing Wing of the Ringling Museum of Art were made in America, produced in Cincinnati and distributed throughout the country. The exhibition draws from the collections of the Ringling Museum, Howard Tibbals, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. The exhibition is co-organized by the Ringling Museum and Cincinnati Art Museum.
The Ringling Museum circus poster collection includes the preservation of 145 Strobridge posters ranging from half sheets to sixteen sheets, as well as window cards and original designs. The Tibbals Collection entails 1,151 Strobridge posters ranging from half sheets to thirty-two sheets, in addition to window cards, trade cards, calendars, design cards, and original design artworks. The Cincinnati Art Museum’s collection includes 702 circus posters.
“Featuring colorful exotic animals and people performing remarkable feats of flight and strength, the circus poster in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries changed the face of American advertising forever,” explained Janet M. Davis, Associate Professor of American Studies, History, and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
One of the first forms of visual communications and outdoor advertising, the circus poster boasted colorful eye-catching images and fantastically enticing copy that brought the stars-of-the-show sensationally to life. The ability to print the thousands sheets of paper quickly and efficiently was made possible through the lithographic process, a flexible medium quickly embraced by printers, including the famous Strobridge Lithographing Company.
“As early examples of mass marketing, these circus posters document a vibrant record of social change and new technology,” said Deborah Walk, Tibbals Curator of the Circus Museum at the Ringling Museum, who co-curated the exhibition with Kirstin L. Spangenberg, Curator of Prints at the Cincinnati Art Museum. “What’s interesting about this exhibition is that visitors can see through the circus posters the immense impact the circus had on American culture and how advertising techniques have changed since then as the pace of our lives have sped up.”
A 264-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition. It features the 80 posters and essays by circus and American cultural studies, historians and scholars. It retails for $29.95 and is now available in the Ringling Museum Store.
The Amazing American Circus Poster exhibition would not have been possible without the generous financial support of The National Endowment for the Humanities. The Ringling exhibition is sponsored in part by a grant from the Sarasota Arts Council, Tourist Development Council, and the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners, and paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues, the Les and Judy Smout Foundation, and the Koski Family Foundation.
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Sarasota, FL — June 6, 2011 — Steven High, Executive Director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, announced today the appointment of Grady Enlow as Deputy Director. Enlow will lead the day-to-day administration, finance, and strategic planning for all service areas of The Ringling Museum, a division of Florida State University and the State Art Museum of Florida. Enlow starts on July 5, 2011 and reports to High.
“Grady Enlow is a versatile and proven leader with a history of achieving organizational growth both in the hospitality and higher education fields,” said High. “He has the perfect blend of experience managing operations, university finance and administration, projects, training and development, and event planning among other areas of expertise. His managerial style and business savvy is an invaluable asset that will enable The Ringling Museum to further our mission to engage visitors with our collections, exhibitions, cultural programs and the Ringling Estate, as well as our vision to become recognized internationally as one of North America’s leading cultural institutions.”
Enlow responsibilities will involve recommending financial and budgeting strategies, as well as reviewing and assisting with prioritizing funding and grant proposals, among other duties. He oversees several departments, including Accounting and Budgeting, Human Resources, Volunteer Services, Technology, Safety & Security, Physical Plant, Events & Rentals, Museum Store, Visitor Center, Membership, and Food Service operations.
Enlow joins The Ringling Museum from Florida State University and its University Business Administrators Office in Tallahassee, Florida, where he spent seven years climbing the ranks to his most recent position as Associate Director. While at Florida State University, Enlow prepared and reviewed college and department annual budgets, totaling more than $70 million. He stabilized and improved the financial picture for more than 12 university operating units. He developed, reviewed and implemented fiscal and administrative policies and procedures for multiple university units.
As Director of Development for the School of Music (1998-2001) and Development Officer for the College of Business (1994-98) for the Florida State University & Foundation, he spearheaded fundraising programs. He implemented marketing strategies that resulted in million-dollar donations, including a $4 million gift to the School of Music and $1 million cash gift to the College of Business.
Prior to his development and administrative work for Florida State University, Enlow served in the hospitality industry for a decade, culminating as General Manager of Golden Eagle Country Club in Tallahassee from 1990 to 1992.
Enlow has been a board member and/or officer of the Council for the Advancement & Support of Education (CASE), The Rotary Club of Tallahassee (2003-‘04), Leadership Tallahassee (1996-‘97), the American Cancer Society Unit Board (1999-2000), and the Tallahassee Little Theatre. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Columbia International University in South Carolina.
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Sarasota, FL —March 24, 2011 — Steven High today was named executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, home to the Ca’ d’Zan mansion, Museum of Art featuring a rare Old Masters collection, Circus Museum and Historic Asolo Theater. The announcement was made after Eric J. Barron, president of The Florida State University, approved his appointment by the Ringling Museum Board of Directors.
“Today is a great day for the state of Florida, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and the future of this iconic and beloved Sarasota institution,” Barron said. “With Steven High at the helm, I have every confidence that The Ringling Museum possesses the artistic and business leadership required to achieve ever greater prominence and excellence building on its outstanding reputation for its art collection, programming, educational opportunities, buildings, library, grounds and gardens, and events.”
High, who is currently the director and CEO of the Telfair Museums in Savannah, Ga., will take office at The Ringling Museum on June 1, 2011.
“I am looking forward to collaborating with Steven High and hearing his exciting ideas to further enhance the Ringling Museum’s leadership position as an internationally acclaimed center for visual and performing arts,” said Sally McRorie, dean of the College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance at Florida State University. “His 30-plus years of museum and university experience coupled with his strong business savvy are a perfect match for The Ringling Museum. We also are very pleased that he will join our fine Department of Art History faculty within the College of Visual Arts, Theatre & Dance. His training and scholarship in art history combined with his practical experience in museum leadership will be critically important in our preparation of students in museum studies, art history, arts administration, and related disciplines.”
McRorie added, “I would also like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Marshall Rousseau for his significant contributions, service and dedication to The Ringling Museum as interim director.”
Rousseau will assist with the transition.
“I am thrilled by the prospects and relish the opportunity that comes with being director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, as well as the responsibility to honor and perpetuate the legacy of our founders, John and Mable Ringling,” High said. “The timing could not be better with the opening this year of the James Turrell Sky Space, new wing of the Circus Museum in The Tibbals Learning Center, the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival and special exhibitions like Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art. I am looking forward to meeting the community, museum members, supporters, partners and the press.”
High has been director and CEO of the Telfair Museums since 2007. While at the Telfair, the oldest art museum in the South, with a staff of nearly 90 and an operating budget of $5.2 million, High and his staff built community ownership of the museum through the delivery of exhibitions and programs that are inclusive, innovative, and entertaining. During his tenure, the Telfair developed strong partnerships with local companies, schools, civic and cultural organizations. In 2008, High led a five-year strategic plan that resulted in reinforcing the diversity and the synergy of the Telfair’s three sites (Telfair Academy, Owens-Thomas House, and the new Jepson Center for the Arts). Telfair Museums ended 2010 with the highest attendance in the museums’ history at 180,000 visitors.
During his 10-year tenure as director/CEO of the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nev., High substantially increased the budget, endowment, assets and membership for this private non-profit institution. Under his leadership from 1996 to 2007, the Nevada Museum of Art’s annual operating budget increased roughly six-fold from $500,000 to more than $2.9 million. Operating endowments jumped from $1 million to more than $7 million. More than $24 million in gifts and pledges were raised for capital and endowment expansion projects, far surpassing the initial plan and 35 percent over goal. Total assets climbed to $28.4 million, up from $3.6 million in 1995. Membership soared from 900 to 7,000 households. He also supervised the design, construction, and successful opening in 2003 of the museum’s new home, a $16 million, four-story, 60,000 square-foot facility designed by architect Will Bruder that features a skylit atrium carved through the entire building section that is a constantly changing space of light and shadow.
High has also held a variety of positions with the Anderson Gallery, School of the Arts, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va.; Baxter Gallery, Portland School of Art (now, Institute of Contemporary Art, Maine College of Art) in Portland, Maine; Williams College Museum of Art in Williamstown, Mass.; Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum in Cambridge, Mass.; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
He began his career in the museum field with Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences in Savannah. Since 1986, High has curated 41 exhibitions on contemporary art with a particular focus on contemporary international art, published 19 catalog essays, three magazine articles and numerous introductory forewords.
High is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2006 Nijinsky Award from the Sierra Arts Foundation and the 2003 Directors Chair Award from the Western Museum Association. Under his leadership the Nevada Museum of Art received the 1999 National Award for Museum Service, the highest national award for museums and presented at a White House ceremony, from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
He is a member and former board member of the American Association of Museums, as well as a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors. He is chairman of the Savannah Convention and Visitors Bureau and is on the board and executive committee of the Savannah Chamber of Commerce. Other board positions include the Savannah Tourism Leadership Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, an international working retreat for visual artists, writers, and composers based in Amherst, Va.
High holds a Master of Arts degree in art history from Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. and a Bachelor of Arts degree in art history from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He also earned a Masters of Business Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and participated in the Museum Leadership Institute at The Getty Center in Los Angeles.
High currently resides in Savannah with his wife, Lisa. His son Jake is an artist living in New York City, and son Nicolas is a college student in Reno.
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Sarasota, FL – March 7, 2011 – Since its inception in the 1970s to its present day mass appeal, Hip-Hop and the street culture from which it sprang have exerted a powerful influence on all aspects of culture. As part of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s inaugural season of Art of Our Time, a new initiative that showcases contemporary visual, literary, and performance art, the museum presents Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art. This challenging and provocative exhibition of art, dance, theater, film and lecture features a remarkable mix of contemporary art from leading visual and performing artists that reflects the diversity and inclusiveness of hip-hop culture. It is paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues.
“We’re expanding our traditional programming by bringing new voices and forces in the world of contemporary art that we hope will attract new audiences and broaden the appeal of the Ringling Museum,” said T. Marshall Rousseau, interim director for the Ringling Museum. “Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art marks a new beginning for The Ringling Museum in which there will be a consistent presence of exhibitions bringing the very best in contemporary art that aims to challenge and raise awareness of current discourses in art and our wider culture.”
Over the last 30 years, Hip-Hop culture has expanded from an almost exclusively African-American and Latino phenomenon to one embraced by other ethnic and social groups. Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art includes a diverse mix of African American, Latino/a, Japanese American, British, Caucasian, gay, male and female artists. It is the first exhibition to take a focused look at the work of ten artists at various stages of career development who all operate within and are informed by hip-hop culture. The artists exhibited are Michael Anderson, iona rozeal brown, Vince Fraser, Gajin Fujita, Luis Gispert, Sofia Maldonado, Nadine Robinson, Mickalene Thomas, Hank Willis Thomas, and Kehinde Wiley.
“Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art brings together artists who, in the first decade of the 21st century, have provocatively incorporated signifiers of Hip-Hop/street culture into their work,” said Dr. Matthew McLendon, associate curator for modern and contemporary art at the Ringling Museum of Art. “All of the work displayed in the exhibition has been produced within the first decade of the new millennium providing a snapshot of what is happening in art at this moment. This unique presentation of artistic expressions is meant to invite further questions and expand our ideas of what it means to speak with an historically urban voice in this age of advanced globalization.”
The art exhibition in the galleries of the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing features a painting of an African-American male as the new art historical icon by Kehinde Wiley, considered the pre-eminent hip-hop portraitist. It showcases a sequined, baroque image of the African-American woman by Mickalene Thomas, who has presented major commissions at institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Among these and many outstanding works are the Asian influenced graffiti art of Gajin Fujita, and neighborhood women from a mural featured in New York’s Times Square by Sofia Maldonado, an emerging Latina artist with a growing global reputation. The Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art exhibition runs from May 21 to August 14, 2011.
Also in conjunction with the exhibition is the work of legendary Rennie Harris Puremovement, an international hip-hop dance ambassador and senior member in the world of organized hip-hop dance/theater. His company RHPM hits the stage of The Historic Asolo Theater, showcasing the spirit and essence of authentic urban expression by exploring universal themes that extend beyond racial, religious, and economic boundaries, May 19 to 21 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $35, $30, $20 / Ringling Members: $30, $25, $15. Contact the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at the Ringling Museum of Art: 941.360.7399.
In addition, the Hip-Hop Theatre Festival presents The Word Begins, an exhilarating performance where drama and comedy meet Hip-Hop culture, May 26 to 28 at 7:30 p.m. at The Historic Asolo Theater. The play, which includes adult language and content, is a journey of two men traversing the chaotic and confusing landscape of race, religion, sexuality, love, and mass communications. With insight, humor, and passion, they bring renewed life and electricity from the inner city to the shopping malls of the heartland. Tickets: $35, $30, $20 / Ringling Members: $30, $25, $15. Contact the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at the Ringling Museum of Art: 941.360.7399.
As part of the Museum’s Art and a Movie series, curator Dr. Matthew McLendon leads an informal and informative Walk & Talk on Thursday June 2 at 6:00 p.m. through the galleries of Beyond Bling followed by a screening of Exit Through the Gift Shop, a documentary film that contains exclusive footage of Banksy and many graffiti artists at work at 7:30 p.m. in The Historic Asolo Theater. Tickets: $10 / Ringling Members: $5. Contact the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at the Ringling Museum of Art: 941.360.7399.
On Thursday, June 9 at 7:30 p.m. renowned photographer, author, and lecturer James Prigoff draws from his collection of more than 80,000 images to illustrate and discuss his insights and advocacy of street art during a ViewPoints Lecture in the Historic Asolo Theater. Tickets: $20 / Ringling Members: $15 (Free for Contributor level members and above). $5 for Florida college students and college/university faculty with valid school ID. Contact the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at the Ringling Museum of Art: 941.360.7399.
Scala Publishers Inc. New York and London is also publishing a book by Dr. Matthew McLendon titled Beyond Bling: Voices of Hip-Hop in Art that features interviews with 6 of the 10 artists to coincide with the exhibition. It will have worldwide English language distribution.
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Sarasota, FL – March 5, 2011 – Dance, music and theater artists from Europe, North and South America headline the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival, October 11-16, 2011 at the Ringling Center for the Arts in Sarasota, Fla. Eight stage productions were announced by festival organizers, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and the Baryshnikov Arts Center at the Historic Asolo Theater on Saturday, March 5. This year’s lineup includes Brooklyn Rider; Colin Dunne; Doug Elkins & Friends; Meklit Hadero; Piano Foursome; Soledad Villamil Canta Tangos & Hermanos Macana; Company Stefanie Batten Bland / sbb birdlegs; and The Wooster Group.
“In collaboration with the Ringling Museum, we look forward to bringing together a group of artists from the world of dance, music and theater to present creative works that reflect the expressive art forms and bold ideas of artists that have made, or are currently making, a name for themselves,” said Mikhail Baryshnikov, the artistic director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center. “Where else but at the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival can audiences see, just to name a few, a 21st century marching band, an authentic proponents of the Argentinean tango, a new take on Irish step dance, a rare performance of Carl Czerny's virtuosic Quatuor Concertant, as well as a ground-breakingly original interpretation of a Shakespeare play and a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical?”
The Ringling International Arts Festival is the result of a unique partnership between The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art and New York’s Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC). Now in its third year, the annual festival draws visitors each year to Florida’s gulf coast to see contemporary, innovative work by both emerging and established artists. Over the course of the Festival are also art exhibitions and special events, as well as a host of activities in, and around, the grounds of the 66-acre Ringling Museum estate situated by Sarasota Bay. Previously held over four days, this year’s festival has been extended to a fifth day due to its popularity.
“The Ringling International Arts Festival has in just two short years gained a loyal following,” said Dwight Currie, Ringling Deputy Director. “Patrons come from near and far to Sarasota/Bradenton to experience this unique festival and the talented artists who are hand picked by the Baryshnikov Arts Center to grace the charming stages and facilities around the Ringling Museum estate. We’re excited by the prospect of seeing familiar and new faces in the audience this year, watching the looks on their faces and hearing what struck a chord with them.”
“OPENING NIGHT”
“Opening Night,” Tuesday, October 11, features the energizing sounds and sights of New York City’s Asphalt Orchestra. The iconoclastic 12 piece marching band trumpets the arrival of the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival with their own unique style of music and movement that plays to the audience in ways never seen or heard before. Described by one leading U.S. newspaper as part parade spectacle, part halftime show and part cutting-edge contemporary music concert, Asphalt Orchestra radiates a new vibe, amplified by its staging of a wide spectrum of songs from pop to jazz to progressive rock into one breathtaking “parade of a show.” Renowned choreographer Susan Marshall along with Mark DeChiazza choreograph the band’s movement. The result is a radically different marching band that takes the audience on a journey, transforming simply immobile listeners to a mobile extension of their performance. This group of versatile brass, wind and percussion players recently played the Lincoln Center Out of Doors and the Barbican Centre in London. Asphalt Orchestra released their debut recording on Cantaloupe Music in 2010. In addition to the performance by Asphalt Orchestra, “Opening Night” also includes a gathering with Festival artists, a sumptuous buffet, open bar and spectacular fireworks display. Tickets are $150 / $135 Museum Members.
Location: Ringling Museum of Art Courtyard.
Date: Tuesday, October 11 at 7 p.m.
FESTIVAL STAGE PRODUCTIONS
Eight additional stage productions in music, theater and dance are to be presented in repertoire in the three theaters that comprise the Ringling Center for the Arts: The Historic Asolo Theater, The Cook Theatre and The Mertz Theatre. In all, 34 stage performances are being presented during the five-day festival.
Music Productions
As a follow-up to last year’s sold-out musical performances by violinist Tim Fain and jazz singer/bassist Kate Davis, the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival presents a mix of emerging and established artists.
· Meklit Hadero: This year’s RIAF includes performances by the singer/songwriter who in 2010 released her debut album “On a Day Like This…”. The Ethiopian-born Hadero’s warm and luminous singing voice draws comparisons to Norah Jones. Showcasing her vocal range, her musical treatments combine jazz, Ethiopia and the San Francisco art scene and visceral poetry. She sings of fragility, hope and self-empowerment that remarkably generates visual pictures of the poetic stories she sings about as well. Her singing style, characterized as cradling, gentle, soulful, lushly spelling binding, sensuous and strangely cinematic by music critics, reflects her worldly upbringing. 50 minutes.
Location: Cook Theatre.
Dates/Times:
Thursday, October 13 at 9:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 6:30 p.m. & 9:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m. & 9:00 p.m.
· Piano Foursome: Four internationally acclaimed pianists (Inon Barnatan, Adam Golka, Anne-Marie McDermott and Pedja Muzijevic) perform four short solo works before joining forces for a rare performance of Carl Czerny's virtuosic Quatuor Concertant for four pianos. 60 minutes. Location: Historic Asolo Theater.
Dates/Times:
Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 13 at 4:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 1:00 p.m.
· Brooklyn Rider: Hailed by music critics as “the future of chamber music,” the genre-defying string quartet Brooklyn Rider presents a bold repertoire of classical, world, jazz, pop and new music that draws inspiration from the exploding array of cultures and artistic energy found in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, home to the group. Their gripping performance style has garnered critical acclaim from classical, world and rock critics. NPR credits Brooklyn Rider with “recreating the 300-year-old form of string quartet as a vital and creative 21st-century ensemble. The quartet's name is inspired in part by the cross disciplinary vision of Der Blau Reiter (The Blue Rider), a pre-World War I Munich-based artistic collective whose members included Vassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Arnold Schoenberg and Alexander Scriabin. 60 minutes.
Location: Historic Asolo Theater.
Dates/Times:
Thursday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 16 at 4:00 p.m.
Theater Production
Continuing the trend of showcasing experimental theater works, the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival presents an interpretation of a classic.
· HAMLET: The Wooster Group performs HAMLET by William Shakespeare. Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, this stage production follows Richard Burton’s famous 1964 Broadway production. The Burton production was recorded in live performance and edited into a film that was shown for only two days in 2,000 movie houses throughout the United States. The Group reconstructs a hypothetical theater piece from the fragmentary evidence of the film by channeling the ghost of that legendary performance. 150 minutes.
Location: Cook Theatre.
Dates/Times:
Wednesday, October 12 at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 13 at 4:30 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 16 at 1:30 p.m.
Dance Productions
Following on the heels of festival performances by such legendary artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov, David Neumann and Maria Pagés just to name a few, the 2011 Ringling International Arts Festival carries on its tradition of stepping forward with engaging works by celebrated international artists.
· Doug Elkins& Friends’ “Fräulein Maria”: One of today’s most musical, witty and inventive choreographers Doug Elkins & Friends’ presents his rendition of a classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical with his creation, “Fräulein Maria,” co-directed by Barbara Karger and Michael Preston with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Presented in cooperation with the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization: An Imagem Company, Elkins version is a take on The Sound of Music, incorporating various influences such as hip-hop, Balanchine, stepping and Martha Graham. Elkins covers all the classical songs within the film, such as The Sound of Music, Do Re Mi, and So Long, Farewell. Using nothing much more than songs and featuring his fine dancers, Mr. Elkins’s ceaselessly brilliant and often hilarious take on The Sound of Music is a fount of unending movement ideas and about as much visceral pleasure as it’s possible to have in a theater.” 65 minutes.
Location: Mertz Theatre.
Dates/Times: Wednesday, October 12 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 16 at 2:00 p.m.
· Soledad Villamil Canta Tangos & Hermanos Macana. Hailed internationally for her award-winning performance in El secreto de sus ojos (winner of the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film), the acclaimed Argentine film actress/singer Soledad Villamil brings the power and passion of Argentinean Tango vibrantly to life in concert with Hermanos Macana – the famed brother dancing duo from Buenos Aires. 60 minutes.
Location: Mertz Theatre.
Dates/Times:
Wednesday, October 12 at 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 13 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 2:00 p.m.
· Colin Dunne: Out of Time. In Out of Time, internationally-acclaimed Irish step dancer Colin Dunne brings movement, sound and image together to create a provocative dialogue between past and present. Intimate and playful, Out of Time is both an unsentimental homage to Irish step dance, and a bold investigation of Dunne’s personal and artistic relationship with a tradition that has shaped his life. In this multi-media show he seamlessly integrates movement, text, film and sound design with the step dance tradition for which he is internationally acclaimed, to offer a contemporary perspective of the art form. He is joined onstage by projected archival images of dancers from the 1930’s onwards – including himself as a ten year old boy. 65 minutes.
Location: Mertz Theatre.
Dates/Times:
Thursday, October 13 at 8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 16 at 5:00 p.m.
· Terra Firma: Company Stefanie Batten Bland / sbb birdlegs performs “Terra Firma,” a dance piece about the search for solid ground, exploring questions of stability on and off the most ancient vehicle of water transit -- boats -- and the diverse passengers that take them. The bi-continental Paris-based French-American group takes the definition of community to the next level, illustrating the synergy that can arise when artists from several backgrounds and cultures join forces. The company explores human emotional relationships and the notion of community, within a cultural, social, historical and present performance context by mixing the subtleties of Europe with American ardor. 45 minutes.
Location: Historic Asolo Theater.
Dates/Times:
Wednesday, October 12 at 4:00 p.m.
Friday, October 14 at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m.
Orders for multiple-performance Festival Passes with prime seating are now being accepted at the Historic Asolo Theater Box Office at the Ringling Museum of Art: 941.360.7399. Tickets for:
· Four Performance Pass: All tickets $42 each ($168 for pass) / $38 each ($152 for pass) for Museum Members.
· Six Performance Pass: All tickets $40 each ($240 for pass) / $36 each ($216 for pass) for Museum Members.
· Eight Performance Pass: All tickets $38 each ($304 for pass) / $34 each ($272 for pass) for Museum Members.
· Add Opening Night to your RIAF Pass: $135 / $115 for Museum Members
Single tickets go on sale in early May.
The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) was established in 2005 to house the core activities of the Baryshnikov Dance Foundation, incorporated in 1979 by Mikhail Baryshnikov. BAC serves as a creative laboratory, meeting place, and performance space for a vibrant community of artists from around the world. BAC is also dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at low or no cost to the public. To date, BAC programs have served more than 500 artists, and approximately 6,000 audience members visit the Center each year. Located in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City, BAC comprises four large column-free studios, a studio theater, and office space. In November 2008, BAC purchased a 299-seat theater within the building that houses its existing facilities. BAC renovated and re-opened the new Jerome Robbins Theater in February 2010. The renowned Wooster Group is the resident theater company of BAC, creating and performing work in the new venue three months out of the year. Other programming in the theater parallels the existing mission of BAC, emphasizing multi-disciplinary work, emerging talent, and international artists who might not otherwise have the opportunity to perform in the United States.
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Florida State University, is one of the largest museum/university complexes in the nation. It preserves the legacy of John and Mable Ringling, educating and enabling a large and diverse audience to experience and take delight in a world-renowned collection of fine art; Cà d’Zan, the Ringling historic mansion; the Circus Museum; the Original Asolo Theater; and historic architecture, courtyard, gardens and grounds overlooking Sarasota Bay.
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