Design in Context

Contemplate the fascinating history of chair design during the Museum’s featured summer exhibition, A Hundred Years – A Hundred Chairs. Masterworks from the Vitra Design Museum, on display May 19 through September 16, 2012.

Assembled from the expansive holdings of one of the world’s foremost design museums, this exhibition reveals aesthetic, technological and manufacturing concerns expressed through the design of the most ubiquitous of objects, the chair.

This intimate view showcases chairs by designers such as Charles Eames, Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, Verner Panton, Frank Gehry and many others working in materials such as wood, steel, plastic and foam. Assorted materials belonging to the Vitra Design Museum accompany chairs on display, and seven films reveal manufacturing processes, offering general insight into production techniques.

Generous support for this exhibition was provided by the Frankle Family Foundation. Corporate sponsorship was provided by Gerdau. Media sponsorship provided by Tampa Bay Times.

Please join the Museum in celebrating artists who pushed boundaries and elevated design to a key element of daily life.

Get Ready for Summer Art Camp

Summer Art Camp 2012 is rapidly approaching, and spots are filling up fast. Camp sessions, each lasting one week, begin June 18 and feature hands-on studies of painting and drawing principles, experimentations with mixed media, collaborative group projects, and historical perspectives on master and contemporary artists.

Registration is already more than half full, but there is still availability for children ages 9-14. Sign up your child now to enjoy an artful summer!

We are also looking for summer art camp volunteers. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old. This is a perfect way for high school students to fulfill community service hours in a fun, creative environment.

Want to lend a hand? Please email Michelle Moseley, Museum Educator, for a volunteer application.

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The Museum warmly welcomes a new face this month, as Dorea Ann Ferris joins as the new director of development in early May.

Ferris most recently served as director of development for the College of Arts and Sciences at American University in Washington, D.C., working with alumni and donors to raise meaningful annual and planned gifts. Prior to that, she was director of planned giving for the National Academy of Science and Associate Director of Development for the College of Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

“Dorea brings a wide breadth of meaningful experience to the Museum,” said Todd Smith, the Museum’s executive director. “We are excited that our national search has produced such a stellar candidate.”

Ferris earned an undergraduate degree from Williams College and an MBA from the University of Michigan. Before embarking on a career in fundraising, she worked in the for-profit sector with positions at The New York Times, PepsiCo, and Citicorp in the respective roles of senior financial analyst, financial planner, controller, and policy advisor.

“I couldn’t be more excited about coming to the Tampa Museum of Art and joining a like-minded group of museum-goers, supporters and board members who understand how important art and culture are to the life of a city,” said Ferris.

On behalf of Museum staff, the feeling is mutual.

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