Read more about the Ringling International Arts Festival and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s vision in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Posts Tagged ‘“Ringling Museum of Art”’
Playwrights and Gender
Monday, July 13th, 2009An article, Research points to a bias against female playwrights, in yesterday’s local paper caught my attention. It reminded me of a blog post dated June 19, in which I pointed to another article that highlighted female playwrights, in particular, Ella Hickson. Gender aside, two leading playwrights, one male and one female, one legendary and one emerging, were chosen to showcase their work at the Festival based on artistic merit and literary ingenuity. Legendary playwright Peter Brook will present his U.S. Premiere of Love is my sin and relatively new playwright Ella Hickson will present Eight. Check them out at the festival this year.
Lynn Hobeck Bates, Public Relations Manager at the Ringling Museum
On the Road Again
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009I’m meeting with media around Florida again this week to promote the Ringling International Arts Festival. Yesterday the SCVB public relations rep and I visited the Naples/Ft. Myers area. Today we plan to be in the Ocala/Gainesville area. Then Wednesday we’ll cross the state to visit Florida’s largest metropolitan area, Jacksonville.
If you are media, or if you know any media that we should meet with, drop me a line. Every lead helps to promote this awesome fesitval.
Posted by Lynn Hobeck Bates, Public Relations Manager, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Can’t Have A Festival Without Food
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009One of the best things about festivals is often the food. After all, festivals focused solely on food have popped up across the country from New York to L.A. In additon to the Festival Cafe (more to come soon!) Treviso Restaurant on the Ringling Museum grounds will offer fresh ingredients blended into dishes that will make your taste buds dance. In addition to being open 11 a.m.-11 p.m. every day of the festival, Treviso will also serve up a Sunday brunch–every Sarasotans favorite–on Oct. 11. I hope to share some recipes from the chef soon.
For patrons wanting a more casual lunch between performances, grab a bite to eat at the Banyan Café and dine beneath the banyans. If you are in the mood for some culinary explorations beyond the Museum gates, you are in luck. The area is home to some highest-rated restaurants in the country.
And, by the way, you can actually hit up Disney World’s Food and Wine Festival before or after the Ringling International Arts Festival. Orlando is just a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Sarasota/Bradenton.
What is Flamenco?
Tuesday, June 16th, 2009Spain and South American have been on my mind this week. Naturally, my mind drifts to thoughts about food and cultural arts. I realized that while I am familiar with the tango, Argentina’s spicy aphrodisiactic dance, I am not as familiar with flamenco. Since Spain’s leading flamenco virtuosos María Pagés will be performing at the Festival, I thought I should freshen up.
Flamencos’ origin is most commonly attributed to Andalusia, an autonomous region now part of Southern Spain, however the colorful history is richly debated. More details to come in a future blog. Let’s keep it simple for now. There are three main forms of flamenco–dancing or baile, guitar playing or guiterra and songs or cante-and a mixture of any three of these elements, or any one element on its own, can be considered “flamenco.” Flamenco takes on a variety of themes from love, passion, loss and heartbreak to politics and humor and is performed around the world. Performers clap, kick, sing, snap small hand-held percussion instruments call castanets and move their body in tempered rhythms to music unleashing a presentation of passion and emotion that is seemingly unbridled yet precisely structured.
Compañia María Pagés will present Flameco y Poesía with her company of nine dancers and musicians in October. It is sure to be a passionate display of song, dance and music that is alluringly graceful and exotically enticing.
Lynn Hobeck Bates, Public Relations Manager at the Ringling Museum
Getting Bradenton on Board
Monday, June 15th, 2009This morning Dwight Currie and I took a long, casual drive to Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island to further drum up community support for the Festival. After finding a mom-and-pop cafe for Monday morning’s requisite coffee, Dwight presented to the Manatee County Tourist Development Council. The TDC is an advisory committee appointed by the county that recommends policy and oversees the use of all “bed tax” funds collected in Manatee County. The Council is eager for the Bradenton CVB to work with the Ringling and they were glad to hear that we have already met to discuss marketing and public relations opportunities. If you’ve got any great marketing ideas for us send them our way. Better yet share this blog with your friends, family and co-workers.
Lynn Hobeck Bates, Public Relations Manager at the Ringling Museum
Spotlight on Louise Fishman
Thursday, June 11th, 2009
Louise Fishman, All Night the Rose, 2004, Oil on linen, 41" x 36", Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York
Known for her big, bold abstract paintings, Louise Fishman’s work will be interjected among the massive Rubens paintings at the Ringling Museum of Art, thereby adding another layer of artistic texture to the Festival’s slate of performing arts. In May, Fishman finished up an exhibition at New York’s Cheim & Read Galleries. A review by The Brooklyn Rail highlights Fishman’s enjoyment in the process of creating art on canvas-repetitive layering of paint and then scraping it- suggesting perhaps that art is not just about the intended meaning of a piece but also about the process of creation.
While we are not all going to be the next-great-artist, we can appreciate art through study, observation and practice. This weekend, head over to your local art store and try creating your own art-it just may be in the process of creation that you find the mental and physical liberation you need after a long week at work.
What does “international” arts festival really mean?
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009I got to thinking today about what we mean by “international” arts festival. Its’ meaning is indeed trifold. Many of the artists hail from a foreign land (for instance Israel, Australia, and France), most of the Festival artists have performed around the world and Sarasota/Manatee is already a sun-kissed haven for international tourists. To top it off, the BAC and Ringling Museum have illustrious international reputations so it is a no-brainer that we are working across the world to invite our international friends and fans to take part in the Festival. In fact, I’m shipping a box of brochures to France today for a public relations company working with the Sarasota and Manatee CVB’s. Bon Voyage!
Lynn Hobeck Bates, PR Manager The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Meow Meow In the Lead
Thursday, June 4th, 2009For all of you dying to know who has the lead in ticket sales, wait no longer. Drum roll please…Meow Meow. it is. As I crawled the web looking for her most recent ditty, I came across, after purging all of the mentions of cats and kitties, some colorful reviews in various media outlets around the world of her Beyond Glamour: The Absinthe Tour which will be featured in Sarasota/Manatee. Is it your cup of tea?
Lynn Hobeck Bates, PR Manager Ringling Museum of Art
