The Ringling International Arts Festival

What do you get when you combine one of the country's leading Art Museums with a radical NYC performance space nobly focused on providing precious resources for the creation of new work to the most vital artists in their fields? Come see for yourself when traditional meets radically new at The Ringling International Arts Festival! The world will be watching. The forces at play here have combined to create an event that is all too rare in the US. The Sarasota community will witness yet again a wondrous event - a major new arts festival that brings a sampling of the world's greatest artists under one umbrella.

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is the remarkable legacy of circus entrepreneur, collector of art and financier John Ringling and his wife Mable. Upon his death in 1936, John Ringling left his art collection and estate to the people of the State of Florida. In 2000 the State of Florida transferred stewardship of the Ringling Museum to Florida State University, establishing the 66-acre Ringling estate as one of the largest museum/university complexes in the nation. The art collection in the Museum of Art is valued among the top 20 museum collections in the United States.

The partnership between Florida State University and the Ringling estate is designed to preserve the legacy of John and Mable Ringling, Today, the Ringling educates and enables a large and diverse audience - more than 300,000 visitors a year - to experience and take delight at this world-renowned estate featuring the Museum of Art, Ca' d'Zan Mansion, Circus Museum and Historic Asolo Theater.

The Baryshnikov Arts Center

BAC opened its doors in New York City's Hell's Kitchen in November 2005. BAC serves as a creative laboratory, meeting place, and performance space for a vibrant community of artists from around the world. BAC is also dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at low or no cost to ticket buyers. The organization recently purchased a 299-seat theater in its performing arts complex, which will undergo renovation in 2009 to be transformed into the state of the art Jerome Robbins Theater. Scheduled to open in 2010, the theater will serve as an organic extension of the existing center, featuring multi-disciplinary work, emerging talent, and international artists, and including artist-centered activity that fosters creative exploration. For more information about the Baryshnikov Arts Center, please visit: www.bacnyc.org.