Horizons Fall 2016

12 NSU HORIZONS Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the modernist structure that houses the museum, which has evolved into a world-class institution that has attracted more than 70,000 people, to date, during 2016. Museum officials expect that number to reach more than 100,000 during 2017. A June 23, 1985, New York Times article noted the significance of its debut: “There can be no doubt that the tourist and retirement center of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has arrived as a metropolis. Next January, in line with the tried-and-true American belief that you can’t have a city without an art institution, it will open a $7.5-million Museum of Art, designed by one of the country’s most sought-after cultural edifices, Edward Larrabee Barnes.” The museum now is continuing to develop as part of NSU, and recently has been awarded prestigious grants for the future. The Junior League’s current president, Elizabeth Swann, Ph.D., ATC, LAT, is proud of both the Junior League civic tradition— especially the founding of the art center—and the many developments since NSU assumed stewardship of the museum in 2008. “The Junior League—and myself—take such pride in the art museum’s progress, which really reflects the progress of NSU and the Fort Lauderdale community as well,” said Swann, professor and department chair of Athletic Training and Exercise and Sports Science at NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences. “The museum has flourished even more being a part of NSU, and we know that will continue,” she pointed out, adding that members of the Junior League often serve as docents at the museum. Swann and the Junior League are working on a joint celebration next year that will combine the 60th anniversary of that first art center along with the 80th year of the Junior League. Details are still being planned. Since the university took the bold step of bringing the museum into the NSU fold, another date is significant. It occurred in 2013, when current director and chief curator Bonnie Clearwater, M.A., was brought aboard. There was “a team of kidnappers,” Clearwater said, smiling. They lured her from a successful 18-year stint with MOCA—the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami— where she had a record of introducing progressive, cutting-edge artists and expanding educational outreach. Among those “kidnappers,” said Clearwater, were prominent art patrons David Horvitz and his wife, Francie Bishop Good. Their David and Francie Horvitz Family Founda- tion announced a $1.5-million challenge grant that coincided with Clearwater’s arrival. In coming to Fort Lauderdale, Clearwater moved to a museum with far more space and facilities, prestigious collections, and un- limited opportunities for integrat- ing art and education. Previous to MOCA, Clearwater held key curat- ing posts in Los Angeles and New York, where she curated the Rothko Foundation. An author, she wrote The Rothko Book: Tate Essential Artist PREVIOUS PAGE Left: Amy Sillman, “N” , 2007, oil on canvas, from Belief + Doubt: Selections from the Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz Collection , on display through January 2017; NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Promised Gift of David Horvitz and Francie Bishop Good ©Amy Sillman, Courtesy, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. New York Right: Dormiveglia VI , 1998, one of the works by Francesco Clemente, a leading figure of the Neo- Expressionist movement, is on display through April 2017. © Francesco Clemente, courtesy of the artist, Kim Heirston Art Advisory, New York Bonnie Clearwater, right, has led a campaign to rebrand and expand the museum’s reach—locally, nationally, and internationally. The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, below, started as a storefront in downtown Fort Lauderdale.