As the nation continues to grieve over the shootings in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, The Ringling shares in the feelings of anger and sadness about this horrific act of violence. Across the country there has been an alarming increase in the number of violent and xenophobic incidents targeting Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).
Long time dance-makers and collaborators Rosie Herrera and Leah Verier-Dunn (Sarasota’s own!) remix their decade-long relationship creating and performing choreographies together in an ongoing creative residency at The Ringling. In October 2020, they embarked on research for a new work in the Perret Performance Studio, and will have dedicated work time scheduled throughout 2021.
2020: (Di)Visions of America is the title of an upcoming performance work by John Sims, which will be presented as part of the Art of Performance program in the Historic Asolo Theater January 16-18, 2021. This work for the stage incorporates the artist’s responses to social phenomena surrounding COVID-19 and American policing, and dramatizes the pushback on Confederate iconography and systemic white supremacy with Sims’ unique vision for bold reckoning and reconciliation.
The Ringling Archives recently collaborated with the Sherman Grinberg Film Library to preserve their Pathe Newsreel SIL 955: The Biggest Show on Earth Thrills the Coolidges from 1928. Funding for this project was received through a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
The artists featured here participated in online programs such as ROAR (Ringling Order of Art Readers) and FAM (Family Art Making) or made art through our Where Everyone Belongs outreach program. Our Community Gallery is always free and open to the public! Please let our visitor services staff know upon arrival that you will be visiting the gallery to receive a family wristband.
Museum Education intern Zida Wang offers a reflection on Howie Tsui: Retainers of Anarchy exhibition, finding connections between the artist’s multicultural background and the artwork, as well as sharing his own experiences as a Chinese student studying in the United States.
Joseph Keckler’s unique brand of performance ranges from operatic vocals to comedy to short videos in which his bizarrely heroic quotidian plots become legendary and virtuosic in their recounting. As an artist in residence at The Ringling, he will work in the Historic Asolo Theater on new music, TV and video projects.
The Ringling Community Gallery is a free public exhibition space dedicated to displaying works of art produced by local community-based, nonprofit or student groups. Exhibitions rotate on a regular basis and allow artists of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to share their work with The Ringling’s visitors.
Liony Garcia is a dancer and choreographer based in Miami, Florida. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from New World School of the Arts. As a performer, he has worked with BodyTraffic (Los Angeles) performing choreographic works by Guy Weizman and Roni Haver (NL) and Barack Marshall. Liony is currently a dancer in Brigid Baker’s WholeProject. He has worked with director Celia Rowlson-Hall on her latest short film entitled Swamp Lake.
John Sims, a Detroit native, is a conceptual artist, writer and social justice activist, who creates art and curatorial projects spanning the areas of installation, performance, text, music, film and large-scale activism, informed by mathematics, design, the politics of white supremacy, sacred symbols/anniversaries, and poetic/political text.
