The Vero Beach Museum of Art welcomed almost 400 top donors to its annual season opener Wednesday evening – the Director’s Society and Chairmen’s Club Dinner.
In addition to a lovely dinner, the evening included a lecture by guest speaker Rosa Lowinger, a Miami-based Cuban-American artist, who spoke about the new Haitian art exhibit and efforts to restore artwork damaged during the earthquake.
The occasion also gave old friends a chance to reconnect with one another and learn more about all the Museum’s exciting exhibitions.
Several guests agreed that the Chairmen’s Club dinner is always an exciting kick-off to the social and cultural season. Supporters Ed and Susan Smith said they always look forward to the evening, adding that the changing nature of the area has actually contributed to a lengthening of the traditional ‘season.’
“It’s not a January-to-May season anymore,” said Susan Smith. “Now it’s starting in November and things are happening earlier as more people are coming down.”
Ed Smith agreed saying, “I think once people come here and they see that there are so many things to see and do culturally, and that there is everything people enjoy doing right here in Vero Beach, they say wow, this little town has all this? I think that is the attraction they keep coming and staying longer.”
The museum’s new Kinetic Sculpture: The Poetics of Movement in the Titelman Gallery generated lots of enthusiasm and interest.
“The best part is that the docents are there to really walk you through it,” said Susan Smith. “They are going to have dancers do interpretive movements to show the motion of the kinetic pieces alongside the ballet later this month.”
That performance, to be held Nov. 19 in the Leonhardt Auditorium, will be performed by Ballet Vero Beach dancers under the direction of Adam Schnell.
Guests gathered in the Holmes Hall for cocktails before dinner, speaking with Scott Alexander, current VBMA board chairman, who has a wonderful vision for the future of the Museum.
“I want to see us continue to expand our membership,” said Alexander. “And I want to maintain the quality of our exhibitions and to continue our quite extensive outreach in the community. We do a number of things and some people may not know it. But we try to do anything we can to make this community and museum a stronger, better place.”
He added, “I can barely draw a straight line but I do love art and I appreciate it even when I sometimes do not understand it. I still like looking and learning about it. But really, I think the museum is a very important organization for this community.”
The current exhibits include Restoring the Spirit: Celebrating Haitian Art, a vibrant and vivid collection of paintings which will run until Feb. 1; the Kinetic Sculpture exhibition as well as painter Carol Brown Goldberg’s Recent Works, stunning abstracts rich in color, will be on exhibit until Jan.4.