“Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art”

EXHIBITION CURATOR

Monsignor Roberto Zagnoli is an Italian priest from Ravenna who has worked at the Vatican for fifteen years as Director of the Ethnological Department of the Vatican Museums. As Curator of the exhibition, Msgr. Zagnoli carefully selected objects from the participating Vatican agencies and organized them to tell the 2000-year history covered by the exhibition and commemorated in the exhibition guide book he co-wrote. Monsignor Zagnoli teaches Communications at the Papal University of Santa Croce in Rome. He is also the secretary of Cardinal Ersilio Tonini. Msgr. Zagnoli is the author of “The Painted Word,” a new series of books published by the Vatican Museums and Il Sole 24 Ore. The books explore the biblical passages that inspired the famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

CONSULTANTS TO THE EXHIBITION

Brother Charles Hilken, F.S.C., M.S.L., Ph. D., is professor and chair of the Department of History at Saint Mary’s College of California. Trained as a medieval historian with special emphasis on manuscript studies, he has twice been elected a research fellow of the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Toronto. He has authored two books, including “Memory and Community in Southern Medieval Italy: The History, Chapter Book, and Necrology of Santa Maria del Gualdo Mazzocca,” which was released in 2008. Brother Charles was the historical consultant for a film documentary on the Vatican starring the late Sir Peter Ustinov, and for a previous exhibition, he helped evaluate and select never-before-exhibited objects from the papal sacristy.

Sharon Simpson is the content developer and writer for the exhibition. For more than fifteen years, Sharon has worked nationally for leading museums and cultural institutions as a writer, project manager and consultant. She assembles and oversees professional teams to develop award-winning interpretive products for many audiences – from preschoolers to research scientists to the general public. Materials produced cover a wide range of project types, scales and media, and include the development and production of print and online educational outreach materials for large-format films.

EVERGREEN EXHIBITIONS

Anne Kinsey is vice president of exhibitions for Evergreen Exhibitions. She oversees the design, production and sales of exhibitions and events. She has more than 14 years of experience in the production of touring and permanent attractions. She graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in Production and English Textual Studies.

Mark Greenberg leads Evergreen Exhibitions as its principal shareholder and president, overseeing more than 15 museum exhibits that explore science, art and culture. Greenberg acquired the company from Clear Channel Exhibitions, where he also served as its president. Prior to that, he was general manager of BBH Exhibits, Inc., a private company serving the museum community that had merged with Clear Channel Exhibitions in 2001. Before joining BBH, Greenberg served in leadership roles with Miller Publishing Group LLC, The Walt Disney Company and Time Inc. Magazines.

MUSEUM OF ART | FORT LAUDERDALE

Irvin Lippman is the Executive Director of the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale. Prior to arriving at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale in October 2003, he was Executive Director of the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, from 1994 to 2002. Before that he was Assistant Director of the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas. He began his museum career in 1975 at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., where he served as staff lecturer in the Education Department between 1977 and 1982.

Mr. Lippman’s tenure at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale has marked a period of unprecedented growth and achievement for the institution. He inaugurated an ambitious exhibition program and developed international partnerships that made possible the presentation of prestigious and critically-acclaimed exhibitions such as Saint Peter and the Vatican; Diana, A Celebration;Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs; Cradle of Christianity: Jewish & Christian Treasures from the Holy Land; With You I Want To Live: The Collections of Gordon Locksley + George T. Shea and Francie Bishop Good + David Horvitz.

Over the last six years, these programs have brought more than two million visitors to the Museum – significantly elevating the institution’s regional awareness and placing it in a leadership position among its peers nationwide. To reach new audiences, Mr. Lippman also initiated educational and outreach programs. The Studio Arts School, designed to provide quality arts education to children, high school students, and adults, was launched in 2004. The Artist in Residence Program, begun in spring 2004, brings artists into the Museum to work on special installations and exhibitions. Among those who have participated in the program are South Florida artists Edouard Duvall Carrié, Matthew Schrieber and Carlos Luna as well as Renata Stih and Frieder Schnock from Berlin, Germany.

In 2008, Mr. Lippman oversaw the merger of the Museum into Nova Southeastern University (NSU), thereby strengthening the institution’s ability to provide the best in education in the visual arts while expanding the creative campuses of both the Museum and NSU. On August 7, 2009, the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale was awarded re-accreditation by the American Association of Museums. The AAM visiting committee reported that they were “impressed with every aspect of the Museum’s program and with the staff. It is evident that for a number of years the Board, the administration, and the staff have been converting each of the challenges [fundraising, facilities, financial stability, and a changing public mission] into opportunities to reinvent their organization and its relationship to the community and to build new audiences. By all accounts, the Museum has made itself relevant to the members of its community, has played a leadership role in developing tourism, and has been a key player in community redevelopment efforts.”

Irvin Lippman received his Master of Arts degree in art history from the University of Texas in 1975. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1970 from the University of Denver.

Media Contacts:

Emily McCrater, Museum of Art I Fort Lauderdale
954-262-0236
emccrater@moafl.org

or

Duree Ross, Duree & Company, Inc.
954-723-9350
duree@dureeandcompany.com