A leader who has worn many hats simultaneously at the High Museum of Art with seeming ease, David Brenneman will be leaving the Atlanta institution where he has worked for 20 years to become director of the Indiana University Art Museum.
The High’s director of collections and exhibitions, chief curator and European art curator, Brenneman will step down in early June and assume his new role in Bloomington in July.
“David has contributed significantly to many special exhibition projects, the dramatic growth of the permanent collection and the overall professionalism of the High’s seven curatorial departments,” High director Michael Shapiro wrote in a recent note to the museum’s staff and board. “He has long been a very talented, trusted and deeply valued colleague.”
Late last year, Shapiro announced his intention to retire on July 31 after his own 20-year run at the High helm. Now, with Brenneman's imminent departure, the board is tasked with ushering in a new era of curatorial leadership.
Among many credits, Brenneman played a key role in the multi-year Louvre Atlanta exhibition series; served as managing curator of high-profile loan exhibitions including "Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis"; organized High exhibits including "Toulouse Lautrec and Friends: The Stein Collection"; and co-led the renovation and reinstallation of the Stent Family Wing.
The Atlanta museum's permanent collection has grown in quality and quantity during his tenure, especially since the 2005 opening of Renzo Piano-designed Wieland Pavilion.
Brenneman’s charge at IU, according to the announcement, is to heighten ethnic and gender diversity in its collections, exhibitions and daily operations; create more interactive cultural experiences; and forge international exhibition partnerships.
In Atlanta, he always exhibited great enthusiasm for High programs and art in general, a quality he’ll no doubt take with him.
“I love art,” Brenneman said in the IU announcement. “I want to experience it and live it, and I want to help other people experience and live it, too.”
Jones named 2015-16 Emerging Artist
The Forward Arts Foundation has selected Kelly Kristin Jones as winner of its 2015-16 Emerging Artist Award. Her work will be featured in spring 2016 at the Swan Coach House Gallery.
With a $10,000 prize attached, this annual award, of which Jones is the 17th recipient, is presented to an Atlanta artist who has not yet had a major solo show and is not connected with a commercial gallery.
Primarily a photographer, Jones most recently has worked on a project responding to vacant urban spaces in the Southeast.
The 2015-16 finalists to be included in the exhibition are Dustin Chambers, Antonio Darden, Pastiche Lumumba and Vanessa Williams.
Meanwhile, Swan Coach House Gallery has just opened the exhibit of 2014-15 Emerging Artist Award winner Amandine Drouet.
Known for abstract fiber-based works and installations that incorporate found objects, Droulet will lead an artist workshop and informal discussion at 11 a.m. April 25.
Through May 27. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. 3130 Slaton Drive N.W., Atlanta. 404-266-2636, gallery.swancoachhouse.com.
THEATER
Georgia Ensemble’s 2015-16 season
Georgia Ensemble Theatre has announced the lineup for its 2015-16 season, with the theme “See What’s Possible.”
The 23rd Mainstage season of artistic director Robert J. Farley’s Roswell troupe:
Sept. 10-Oct. 4: "Calendar Girls," Tim Firth's comedy about nine women's club members who pose nude for a calendar to raise funds for a local hospital.
Nov. 5- 22: "Romeo and Juliet," the troupe's first Shakespeare staging.
Jan. 7 -24, 2016: "Charley's Aunt," a comedy of mistaken identities and cross-dressing by Brandon Thomas.
Feb. 25-March 13, 2016: "Peter and the Starcatcher," featuring a dozen actors playing more than 100 characters in the swashbuckling Tony-winning adventure by Rick Elice that's billed as "a grownup's prequel to 'Peter Pan.'"
April 7-24, 2016: "Yesterday and Today, the Interactive Beatles Experience," a nostalgic musical celebration conceived and performed by brothers Billy, Matthew and Ryan McGuigan in which audiences pick the set list.
Performances are at Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. Early bird Mainstage subscription packages, $103-$143 (with discounts for seniors, students), are available through May 31. Call 770-641-1260. More Mainstage details and information on the Theatre for Young Audiences season and the Joe Gransden Big Band Series: get.org/2015-2016-season.
MUSIC
Boggs celebrates ‘71 Years of Song’
At 87, baritone, maestro and teacher Frank Boggs has lived a life filled with song. That will be celebrated in the Georgia Festival Chorus program April 26 at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church.
The free 7:30 p.m. concert, “Reflections — 71 Years of Song,” will feature Boggs, conductor of the 100-voice chorus, singing some of his favorite songs, accompanied by guest pianist David Carnes. Others singing Boggs’ personal selections will be Lisa Klausman, David Scott and Michael Cromwell.
955 Johnson Ferry Road, Marietta. 404-234-3581, www.tgafc.org.
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