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News to Use from Open Air Exhibits November 2005 Note: If you are having trouble reading this newsletter, please click here. In this month's issue: Welcome Neither rain nor sleet nor hurricane can keep Chihuly from the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Share the best exhibit advice you've ever received, and you might win a Starbucks gift card Dimensional Design adds depth to the Reiman Gardens approach to exhibits Don Sippel has a great idea for involving children in art Forget the sugarplums - with this troupe, visions of bugs will dance in their heads! Welcome to the November issue of News to Use! It's a month of Thanksgiving, and I wanted to take a moment to thank all of you who have shared your enthusiasm for this exhibits marketing newsletter. It is a real pleasure to talk with many of you each month and report your experiences, your energy and your commitment to sharing your gardens or arboreta with your communities. In addition to being a newsletter publisher, I am also a volunteer at the San Antonio Botanical Garden, where we are currently presenting Dinosaurus Tex, an exhibit of Texas dinosaurs and the plants they ate. One of the benefits of every exhibit is the opportunity it offers to sell garden memberships, and last weekend we were taking advantage of this. Watching the crowds and talking with visitors as I worked my shift, I was reminded what an excellent value gardens are. In San Antonio, a family of four can enjoy a morning or afternoon outdoors for what two adults would pay for a two-hour movie experience, and a family annual membership costs about the same as one two-day pass to an amusement park. Across the country, many gardens offer an even better deal, with free admission or a request for a voluntary donation. In this day of microwave speed and instant messaging, where better for a child to learn the pace of the real world - that harvesting first requires planting and careful nurturing and patience - than in a garden? Greeting family groups as they entered, I found that many of the adults were first-time visitors, but their kids or grandkids had been to the garden before on school field trips. The beauty of the exhibit was that it gave adults and kids a reason to enjoy the garden together, and hopefully the Dinosaurus Tex experience, combined with strong programming and promotion throughout the year, will bring them back again and again. The purpose of Open Air Exhibits and this newsletter is to make it easier for you to find the exhibits - the temporary attraction -- that will introduce families to your facilities and encourage them to appreciate the permanent collections as well. I am grateful to you all for the work that you do and look forward to working with you and offering you more audience-building, exhibits, and information in 2006. Neither rain nor sleet… Despite hurricane damage, Chihuly opens at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden December 3 It would take more than Hurricane Wilma to delay the opening of Chihuly at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, scheduled for a six-month run between December 3, 2005, and May 31, 2006. "The hurricane damage caused us to lose a few days, but we maintained momentum," Nanette Zapata, director of marketing and communications, said. Executive Director Mike Maunder and his staff had been planning for the blockbuster event for more than 15 months. As seasoned Floridians, they were ready to deal with storm damage and quick recovery. This is the first exhibit of this magnitude that Fairchild has presented. "Chihuly had just finished in Atlanta, and the artist expressed an interest in an exhibit at Fairchild. It was a wonderful opportunity for us. Chihuly's exhibitions have been a huge success for every garden that has hosted them," Zapata said. "The timing was right. The weather is good in Dade County this time of year, and the garden was at a point where we were ready to expand our audience. "We're world famous as a research and education facility, and our work in conserving endangered plants and habitats in South Florida and internationally is more important than ever," Zapata said. "In addition, we are Dade County's oldest cultural institution, an important urban green space and a retreat from the development. The Miami area has become increasingly densely populated, with new buildings crowding out all the trees and natural areas. We're popular as a field trip destination and a wedding venue, and we expect the Chihuly show to introduce the garden to a much wider audience. When people come to see the glass, they'll also be getting the message -- We're here. Please use this beautiful garden. Enjoy it, and come back again." Fairchild is contractually bound not to share details on cost, but Executive Director Maunder gave some perspective. "Staging a Chihuly exhibition is a major investment for any institution, measured in terms of finance, planning and any required infrastructural improvements. It's worth it, however, and when you are deep in planning and trouble shooting, you focus on the day you see the first glass spires appear in your garden," Maunder said. "Target is the presenting sponsor, and the association was a natural," Zapata said. "The Dayton family founders of Target were devoted philanthropists who committed to returning 5% of revenues to the community. That's $2-million a week earmarked for public service projects. "Target is committed to bringing art and design and beautiful things to everyday people. The corporation focuses on getting into the community and reaching out to the underprivileged. The mission is really very similar to ours at the garden." Each Chihuly exhibit is unique to the host garden, and Fairchild's display will be another "one of a kind," juxtaposing nature and glass in the garden setting. "Dale likes seeing his artwork in new places," Jennifer Lewis, a Chihuly Studio staff member, explained. "He grew up in humble circumstances, but his mother always had a garden - and still does at age 96. Her love of plants may have influenced his use of color and appreciation for organic forms. "I think our exhibits are part of a widespread garden movement to broaden the appeal and create a sense of urgency to visit. The garden is always there, but the exhibit won't be, and somehow people ask more questions about the plants when the glass is there. The art delights and draws attention to the garden's permanent collection," Lewis said. Though he's booked through 2009, Chihuly does not actively seek garden venues. The profile of a perfect garden for a Chihuly exhibition would be one that has a secured area and one that appeals to the artist. "Dale is especially fond of classic Victorian glass houses," Lewis added. "I think that garden directors such a Mary Pat Matheson of the Atlanta Garden and Mike Maunder here at Fairchild are the Thomas Hovings of the garden world - bringing masterpieces to this non-traditional environment," Lewis said. To find out more about the details of Chihuly at the Fairchild, you can call Nanette Zapata at 305-667-1651, ext 3383, or email her at nzapata@fairchildgarden.org.
Reiman Gardens maximizes exhibit impact with Dimensional Design Developing an exhibit or presenting a rental one can be a six-figure investment, requiring intricate orchestration of resources to achieve maximum return. In Ames, Iowa, Iowa State University's Reiman Gardens has tackled the challenge head on with a process called Dimensional Design, which basically focuses the resources and efforts of all garden areas - education horticulture, entomology, communications, etc. -- into presentations on a single theme each year. Here's how it works: Representatives from all garden areas begin meeting two years in advance of the program presentation date to plan the theme for the year. They brainstorm together, then do individual research. Each garden manager shares the information he or she has gathered, and together the group selects the best ideas to develop into presentations including displays, interpretation, events, educational programs and home grown or rental exhibits. "Doing it this way has produced better results, better ideas and more efficient use of resources," Lisa Orgler, assistant director of planning and programs, explained. The 10-year-old garden initiated the themed year approach three years ago. "In the first five years of its existence, the garden didn't have many full-time staffers. As the numbers grew, each area tended to evolve independently, doing its own thing. "I arrived three years ago to fill the education coordinator position. Having trained in landscape design, a discipline that demands a reason for everything you do, I couldn't resist the impulse to bring all of our individual efforts together to achieve a common goal. We began with some exploratory conversations and settled on themed years," Orgler said. The 2006 theme, The Art of Gardening, is a case study in how the process works. The overall theme highlights the art and design of gardening, and sub-themes expand on this throughout the year. Some of these include: interactive displays of insect mouths and big insects. "I had some problems finding big bugs that would fit indoors, but I am working with a local artist who creates 'beasts' out of sheet metal. If it works out well, other gardens may be interested in using the indoor giants in their venues," Orgler said. Working as a team, Reiman staff members take turns leading development of the various sub-theme projects. "We have eight display areas in the conservatory and five outside, so we share design responsibilities," Orgler said. "The collaborative effort blurs the lines of departmental responsibility and encourages everybody to learn about the design process. It has also taught us a few things about leading and following while improving our overall garden design. "And it has helped eliminate 'floaters,' or those programs that make guests say 'I wonder why that is there?'. When you are pro-active rather than re-active in using the venue to tell a story, the results are cohesive, fun designs and interpretation that delight and entertain, and your visitors really get it. Our mission is to educate and enchant, and the public appreciates and understands when we do it well." Coordinated vision also puts everyone on the lookout for things and ideas that can be used to interpret an upcoming theme year. A staffer attending an antique show could find the perfect piece to illustrate a theme, for example. "That's what happened when I read about Carla Pastore's "The Sea King's Garden" exhibit. It seemed like a perfect fit for our 2008 theme, The Garden in Literature - Reading the Landscape, since it is based on Hans Christian Andersen's story of 'The Little Mermaid.' With the themes established, it's like creating drawers of information. If you come across something you can't use at the moment, you file it in one of the theme drawers for the future," Orgler said. To find out more about Dimensional Design and how it is working at Reiman Gardens, you can contact Orgler at 515-294-7569 or lorgler@iastate.edu. with this troupe, visions of bugs will dance in their heads The holidays wouldn't be complete without a re-reading of the classic Night before Christmas. You remember - children tucked all safe in their beds while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads - or something like that. But it doesn't have to be Christmas for husband and wife team Annie Hickman and Allynn Gooen to set visions of bugs dancing in your visitors' heads. The New York based couple, owners of Bugs and Balloons, Inc., specializes in unique entertainment that has delighted audiences in Canada, Japan, Australia, Europe, Singapore, Bali and the U.S. If you visited the Morton Arboretum with AABGA during the 2005 Annual Conference, you were greeted by Hickman and her fantastic bugs. You may, in fact, have waltzed with her katydid or posed for photographs with her centipede. As David Rogers, creator of the Big Bugs exhibit has observed, humans aren't the only gardeners, and Hickman's artful creatures add a new dimension to the concept of insects in the plant world. Her performances range from simple strolls through the garden or arboretum interacting with visitors to 30-60 minute dance programs on stage. And while an indoor theater is the ideal, shows can be adapted to outdoor stages and other venues. Her solo dance/theatre performance is called Weaving the Wild. Hickman and Gooen also co-star in The Love Bug's Hug and in The Lizard of Oz, two tales told with Hickman's graceful and whimsical creatures and Gooen's high energy, interactive balloon storytelling theatre. Together or individually, they've performed at venues including the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, The Cleveland Botanical Garden, Longwood Gardens (where she has a return engagement this January) and Botanica, The Wichita Gardens, in addition to Morton Arboretum performances for AABGA and the opening of the children's garden. The basketry sculptural costumes that are her hallmark are the culmination of Hickman's 30 years of experiences in costume design. She has designed and built costumes for Henson Associates on Sesame Street Live (a nationally touring stage production), the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and Le Clique (a New York fantasy special events company). For the past 20 years she's concentrated on costumes for her own company. Her bugs include 7-foot praying mantises (three), a cockroach, a ladybug, a Japanese leaf insect, a huge centipede, katydid, black bird, blue bird, owl, rooster, bees (three), butterflies, and more. "The bug characters make a great school outreach component for an exhibit opening, and a performance could be a wonderful prize in a garden or arboretum-sponsored contest among schools," Gooen suggested. Performances work well as stand-alone attractions or in combination with other exhibits, such as Big Bugs. Costs vary, depending on which stage show is asked for, the number of strolling bug characters, and the time involved. "Pricing starts around $3,500 plus travel expenses for a short, relatively simple engagement and can reach to around $30,000 for a full production, longer stay and promotional appearances," Gooen said. To keep costs down and to involve more of the local community, local dancers are often used to bring Hickman's costumes to life. Gooen recommended making reservations six to twelve months in advance. For a preview of the costumes and performances, visit bugsandballoons.com. You can reach Hickman and Gooen at allynn@bugsandballoons.com or at 800-660-BUGS (2847). How do you engage children in a modern sculpture exhibit? Don Sippel, Norfolk Botanical Garden, had the prize-winning answer The November Question of the Month was: My garden is planning a series of modern sculpture exhibits over the next three years. Children are not the target audience for this project, but I'd like to include some elements of interpretation to engage them and help them relate the sculpture to the garden. Got any ideas on how to draw our young visitors in? Here's the expert advice from Don Sippel, events and exhibits specialist at the Norfolk Botanical Garden and winner of the $25 Barnes and Noble gift card: Children love art and being creative. Once your main exhibit is in place, run some advance introductory days just for kids. Plan some fun, creative events that will allow the children to become involved in the exhibit themselves. Providing natural materials from your garden, direct them in creating a modern sculpture that will become part of your main exhibit, complete with artist's recognition, of course. Provide children with coupons that they can use to invite family and friends back to view their creations at an official "gallery" opening or anytime during the exhibit's run. Schedule this opening for the same day as the main exhibit, add refreshments and media attention, and you've just cooked up a huge pot of publicity for your garden. One idea would be to create a framework of a sculpture and wrap it in twine. Using cuttings and plant discards provided by your gardeners on a daily basis, children can take part in creating a floral modern masterpiece by weaving the cuttings through the twine. By providing fresh cuttings every day, the artwork will continue through the exhibit.
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