Meet the Ringling Museum's Curators

Curators are (some of) the unsung heroes of museums. It's all too easy to enjoy an exhibit without thinking about the people who worked behind the scenes to make the show happen. This summer the Ringling Museum hosted a series of programs shining a light on some of those folks, from registrars to art handlers to educators. The latest session featured five of the Ringling's curators. Read on for  some of their thoughts.

Sarah Cartwright

Sarah Cartwright is the Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections. She's the person in charge of the artwork donated by John and Mabel Ringling plus the rest of the European collection. Her daughter told her teacher her mom "keeps the paintings from falling off the walls." She's content with that description.

Sarah talked about the challenges arts educators face with today's focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). The arts are no longer an integral part of school curricula. Not so long ago, the value of a liberal arts education wasn't questioned. Today parents and kids alike are more interested in classwork that leads students on a direct path into the job market. Sarah sees an important part of her job as establishing the Museum as a tool educators can use to supplement classroom learning.

Jennifer Lemer-Posey serves as the Tibbals Curator of Circus at the Ringling. The title alone brings a smile to my face. Jennifer's enthusiasm leaves no doubt that she's the right woman for the job.

Jennifer talked about the challenge -- and joy -- of considering new stories for the collection to tell  Thinking outside the box (or ring, as the case may be) is a big part of the job. It's made a little easier by the fact she has a living, breathing community of circus performers and families right here in Sarasota who are eager to share their history.

Christopher Jones is the Curator of Photography and New Media. Chris quickly disabused the audience of any idea they might have that being a curator is glamorous.  He opened by telling us, "Eighty percent of the job is emailing." Ah, the digital age. And the times in which we live pose both great opportunities and great challenges for museums. With people looking at multitudes of images online daily, curators are charged with creating exhibits that will inspire people to get out of their chairs and into museums to appreciate the true power of art.

Jones also talked about the challenge of making museums remain relevant. To him, it's a no brainer. Art promotes good citizenship by broadening our understanding of the world. But, again, you have to get people through the doors.

Marissa Hershon is the Curator of Ca' d'Zan and the Decorative Arts. Her responsibilities include the Museum's gorgeous glass collection showcased in the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion. Marissa only joined the Museum in May, so she's still getting her feet under her. But that doesn't mean she didn't have any ideas.

Melissa enjoys discovering female artists, so we might just see a bit more women represented in her domain. And if you happen to have a big pile of money just hanging around, she'd love to restore the organ in the Ca' d'Zan and bring music back to the Ringlings' home.

Rhiannon Paget is the Curator of Asian Art. It's a particularly exciting position given the Museum's still sparkling new 25,000 square foot Chao Center for Asian Art.

Rhiannon envisions the role of the curator as making observations about the world. While the subject matter is different, the perspective is not dissimilar from the lens she used when she studied marine ecology.

Rhiannon embraces the opportunity to introduce museumgoers to different belief systems. What, she asked, is "normal"?  The conversations to be had around that question are endless.

It was a fun and thought-provoking morning. Thanks to Laura Steefel-Moore and the Education Department for continuing to bring interesting programming to the Ringling.