March 8, 2014
MEDIA CONTACTS
Christine Meeker Lange § [email protected] § 941-302-2769
Wendy G. Surkis § [email protected] § 941-309-7662
Su Byron § [email protected] § 941-922-7274
Ringling College’s Sarasota Museum of Art/SMOA
Free Tours of “Swept Away”
Continue at Historic Sarasota High School
Docent tours of Lisa Hoke’s colorful, large-scale installation are available at historic Sarasota High School, Saturdays and Sundays through April 19.
(Sarasota, FL) For three weeks in January, hundreds of people flocked to historic Sarasota High School, future home of Sarasota Museum of Art/SMOA, to observe artist Lisa Hoke as she transformed the walls of two classrooms into a 100 x 12-foot, rainbow-hued installation entitled “Swept Away,” which she created from flattened household, office and food product packaging. SMOA is now offering free, docent-led tours to view the completed artwork, Saturdays and Sundays, 1:30-3 p.m., through April 19. The tours also include “ORIGINS,” the 2012 conceptual architecture exhibit created jointly by Ringling College students and Sweet Sparkman Architects, and “Out in Front,” Patrick Dougherty’s 2013 installation on the high school grounds. Tours begin at the front steps of historic Sarasota High School, 1001 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. For more information about the tours or to arrange group tours, call 941-309-7662.
Hoke is known for transforming discarded, everyday materials into colorful, one-of-a-kind artworks that have been exhibited at major art museums and galleries. Her tenure in Sarasota was part of SMOA’s ARTmuse program, an initiative that brings emerging and established artists and museum professionals to our region. Previous visiting artists have included Patrick Dougherty, Lesley Dill, Janet Echelman, Judy Pfaff and Seth Randal.
“This has been such an exciting season for us,” says Wendy Surkis, president of SMOA. “We’re thrilled to see how Lisa brought the walls of this historic structure back to life, galvanizing the community in the process. We’re getting closer each day to reaching our goal of reinventing this historic structure as a world-class museum.”
SMOA will be Sarasota’s first art museum devoted to modern and contemporary art, interweaving exhibitions, educational programs and community outreach initiatives to engage a diverse audience and serve as a stimulating hub for creative discovery and discourse. Together, Ringling College and SMOA will transform the former Sarasota High School, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, into exhibition space with multiple galleries, a 110-seat auditorium, an indoor/outdoor café, a sculpture court, classrooms, artists’ workshop and classroom spaces and community gathering places.
To participate in SMOA’s Million Dollar Match program or to learn more about donor opportunities, call Wendy G. Surkis at 941-309-7662 or visit www.SarasotaMuseumOfArt.org.
About Sarasota Museum of Art
Sarasota’s first museum of modern and contemporary art will be a dynamic destination for exhibiting innovative and compelling visual art of the 20th and 21st centuries. A vital part of Sarasota’s rich cultural legacy, the museum will interweave exhibitions, educational programs and community outreach initiatives to engage a diverse audience and serve as a stimulating hub for creative discovery and discourse for children and adults. For more information, visit www.SarasotaMuseumOfArt.org.
About Ringling College
Ringling College of Art and Design is a private, not-for-profit, fully accredited college offering the Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in 13 disciplines: Advertising Design, Computer Animation, Digital Film-making, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design, Graphic & Interactive Communication, Illustration, Interior Design, Motion Design, Painting, Photography & Digital Imaging, Printmaking, and Sculpture, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Business of Art & Design. Located in Sarasota on Florida’s Gulf Coast, the picturesque 48-acre campus now includes more than 110 buildings, and enrolls nearly 1,400 76 students from 42 states and 53 countries. It is recognized as being among the best and most innovative visual arts colleges in the United States as well as a leader in the use of technology in the arts.
