DONNA KARAN HONORED BY DREAM FOUNDATION                       

Story and Photos by Bonnie Carroll

The 10th Annual Celebration of Dreams produced by the Dream Foundation honored renowned designer Donna Karan with the Founder's Humanitarian Award, which was presented by long-time friend and supporter Barbra Streisand.

The dinner and awards ceremony, attended by over 600 guests, also included a showing of the designer's full Spring 2012 Collection. "Everything I do is a matter of heart, body and soul," said the chief deisgner of the company that bears her name. Funds raised from the exquisite Dream Foundation dinner and auctions raise awareness and enhance the lives of families facing a life limiting illness.

2011 Dream Recipient Sarah Parrish    Th Romasollerson, Donna Karan,Ron Frasch, President Saks Fifth Avenue

The runway was a kaleidoscope of spectacular Karan Spring 2012 designs, and was produced by an army of talented fashion professionals. Dan Aykroyd and Brad Garrett provided an extremely funny and successful live auction, where attendees took home fabulous dream trips for the highest bid. Sarah Parrish 2011 Dream Recipient shared her gratitude for the generosity she had experienced from the organization, who took her to a Broadway show in New York to experience her special dream.

          Dan & Donna Aykroyd                              Brad Garrett & Isabella Quella

Celebrities atttending included Priscilla Presley, Joanna Kearns, Macy Grey, Pia Toscano, Naya Rivers & Amber Riley, Jackson Guthy, Cindy Crawford, Jonathan Silverman, Jennifer Finnigan, Alan Thicke, David James Elliott and more. Sponsors included Saks Fifth Avenue, Donna Karan, Carl's Jr, ThinkThin and more.

     Priscella Presley              John Paul & Eloise De Joria               Lynda.com

    2011 Board Chairs with Tom Rollerson        ThinkThin Products CEO & Michael Lewis   

Thomas Rollerson introduced and thanked the 2011 event chairs Arlene Montesano, Diana Mac Farlane, Bui Simon, Sandi Nicholson and Sheryl Lowe, as well as all the volunteers who made the evening possible. "We believe that no dying person should ever be refused their dying wish," said Rollerson. For information or donations visit: www.dreamfoundation.org.  

ANDREA BOCELLI’S DINNER & CONCERT

To Benefit Andrea Bocelli Foundation and

Grammy Museum Foundation

BEVERLY HILTON HOTEL

Friday, December 9, 2011

Cocktails: 6:00 – Dinner: 7:00 – Concert: 8:30

Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze Tables Available

(10 seats per table) Single seats: Gold $1,500

Silver $1,000 and Bronze $500.00.

Dress Code – Cocktail Attire

Contact: grammymuseum.org/abfoundation or

213-765-6800 Ext. 3 for reservations and information

NUTCRACKER FOR THE HOLIDAYS    

                    (Photo: Season Winquist Dancer, photo by Bazemore)

Santa Barbara's Holiday Treat: The Nutcracker at The Granada Theatre

             State Street Ballet's The Nutcracker follows a long-standing tradition of holiday performances, and this year is no exception. The company will showcase its classic presentation of this perennial favorite on December 17 and 18 complete with sets from Moscow and a cast that includes the students of Gustafson Dance performing with State Street Ballet's professional dancers.

            The Nutcracker is based on the book The Nutcracker and the Mouse King

by E.T.A. Hoffman, and set to the music of Tchaikovsky. The ballet tells the story of a young German girl, Clara, who is presented with a beautiful toy nutcracker during a holiday party by her godfather Drosselmeyer, a skilled clock and toy maker. In Clara's holiday dream, the toy comes to life and escorts her on a journey to a magical land of sweets and snow, complete with exotic inhabitants to entertain her.

            “Everyone should have the opportunity to see this timeless and beautiful ballet during the holidays,” explains State Street Ballet Artistic Director Rodney Gustafson. “It’s a story everyone can follow as it’s brought to life through familiar music and timeless dance.”

Staging and choreography for the production are by Rodney Gustafson and Choreographer and Ballet Master Gary McKenzie. Costume design is by A. Christina Giannini and Anaya Cullen, and the sets were designed and produced in Moscow.

The annual Sugar Plum Party follows the Sunday matinee in the Founder’s Room of The Granada Theatre and is free with the price of the ticket to the Sunday performance.

Show times for The Nutcracker at The Granada:

Saturday, December 17 at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sunday, December 18 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are priced from $28 to $53, with discounts for students and seniors.  Children under 12 are $18 and are available through The Granada Box Office (1214 State Street, 805.899.2222), or online at www.granadasb.org

 NICOLE STRASBURG: ISLAND VALLEYS HOME

NOW AT SULLIVAN GOSS, SANTA BARBARA

Over 200 guests and ardent fans attended the 1^st Thursday opening of Nicole Strasburg’s exhibition at Sullivan Goss, 7 East Anapamu, where Frank Goss, owner, was host with the most. The exhibition features her contemporary Tonalist paintings of the Santa Barbara Channel islands, in particular Sante Cruz Island, where she made numerous painting excursions that gave her an intimate knowledge of the Island flora and fauna. She also created beautiful paintings sitting in a boat as she approached the Island.

Strasburg’s work is described as a harmonious collaboration of places she visited creating a celebration of California, familiarity, and a grounded sense of home. Her talent is described as perfectly capturing the “spirit of the place”. The exhibition will be on view until January 29, 2012.

Go for lunch or dinner - The Arts & Letters Cafe is a 'secret garden' within the gallery that serves simply wonderful food. Visit www.Sullivangoss.com.

                     OPERA SANTA BARBARA

Opera Santa Barbara Board President Duncan Mellichamp and Suzanne Mellichamp with the cast of La boheme at the Granada Theatre (l-r Christopher Bengochea, Rebecca Davis, Mr & Mrs. Mellichamp, Malcolm MacKenzie, Jan Cornelius). 

  OPERA SANTA BARBARA SEASON OPENS WITH LA BOHEME

The opening of the 2011/2012 Opera Santa Barbara Season was a delightful presentation of Puccini’s timeless La boheme, and was an exciting beginning to the new season. Members of the cast included Christopher Bengochea, Rebecca Davis, Malcolm Mac Kenzie, Jan Cornelius, Gabriel Vamvulescu, Steven La Brie, and Jesse Merlin. The opera was conducted by Dean Williams and stage direction was skillfully done by Brad Dalton.

Evening Title Sponsors included the Mosher Foundation and the Elaine F. Stepanek Foundation, who contributed greatly to bringing La boheme to the Granada this year. Leading roles were sponsored by Sara Miller McCune & Marilyn Bernard Bernstein, Rich and Luci Janssen, Michael and Anne Towbes, The Towbes Foundation, and Geoffrey & Joan Rutkowski.

Among the child singers was local Bryan Shott who accompanied by his proud sister Chloe and his parents Ann & Craig Shott. Bryan is a member of the Santa Barbara Childrens Chorus, and was happy to be a member of the La boheme cast.

Kudos also to the many supporters of Opera Santa Barbara including KDB93.7, Via Maestra 42 Catering, Olio e Limone, The Upham Hotel, Inn of the Spanish Garden, Hotel Santa Barbara, and all the local media outlets who support the programs.

Upcoming performances include Le nozze di Figaro, March 23-26 and Orphee et Eurydice April 27-29. For information and tickets visit: www.operasb.org or 805-899-2222.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM OF UTAH OPENS NEW BUILDING IN SALT LAKE CITY

Iconic Rio Tinto Center Inspired by Utah Landscape Set in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains

The Natural History Museum of Utah, located at the University of Utah, has reopened to the public in a stunning new building situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking Salt Lake City and inspired by the diverse landscape of Utah. The $103 million Rio Tinto Center, funded by a public and private partnership, is deeply rooted in place and infused with multiple features that embrace both traditional and new media techniques – a new Museum that sets a new standard for a Natural History Museum of the 21st Century. 

For over four decades, the Natural History Museum of Utah has connected Utah residents and tourists alike with the natural wonders and native cultures that define Utah.  As an active research institution with a remarkable and growing collection of more than 1.2 million specimens and objects, the Museum is an extraordinary cultural and educational asset for understanding the world. Over the years, the Museum has garnered the respect and affection of visitors, state and local leaders, scientists and museum professionals through programs of sustained excellence in the areas of public education, scientific research, collections preservation and environmental stewardship.

“We feel Utah residents will be very proud of our new home, which is the product of the work of literally every community in the state and experts from around the world,” said Sarah George, executive director of The Natural History Museum of Utah. “I believe we now offer one of the nation’s great new cultural buildings in which architecture and exhibition content serve and advance science and education while respecting their natural surroundings.  We look forward to many years of telling the exciting and important stories of the natural world.”

Rio Tinto Center – Design

The extraordinary new 163,000 square foot Rio Tinto Center, clad in 42,000 square feet of copper, occupies a prominent place at the edge of Salt Lake City and the University of Utah. The facility blends seamlessly into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the angles of the roof rising and falling with the slope of the foothills in the background.  The design reflects the Museum’s mission to illuminate the natural world through scientific inquiry, educational outreach, mutual cultural experience and human engagement of the past, present and future of the region and the world. 

Designed by Todd Schliemann of Ennead Architects, the Museum’s new home overlooks the Salt Lake Valley from its stunning 17-acre site.  Leading the project team, in addition to Mr. Schliemann, are Don Weinreich of Ennead Architects, as well as David Brems and John Branson of Salt Lake City’s Gillies Stransky Brems Smith Architects. 

Inspired by the region's natural landscape of rock, soil, minerals and vegetation, the Rio Tinto Center rests on a series of terraces that step up the hill and lie along the contours of the site with minimal disruption to the adjacent natural landscape. The new building is located above the shoreline of ancient Lake Bonneville, with the Bonneville Shoreline Trail passing through the property, and provides breathtaking views of the Wasatch Front. Respect for the natural world and human engagement in it is underscored by the design’s “green” initiatives.

With the artful integration of sound principles of sustainability, the design of the Natural History Museum of Utah will play a seminal role in enhancing the public's understanding of the earth's resources and systems and be a model for responsible and environmentally sensitive development. By incorporating the use of recycled materials, local resources, photovoltaic energy, radiant cooling and the implementation of an extensive storm water catchment and management system, the Natural History Museum of Utah is seeking LEED Gold certification, which would make it one of only 18 buildings in Salt Lake City with that distinction. 

Inside, the building is divided by a sixty-foot-high central public space, The Canyon, which is the centerpiece of the Museum’s interior. One wing of the stunning new Museum contains long-needed spaces dedicated to the objective understanding of our world – research laboratories, conservation labs, collection storage and administration. The other wing houses public spaces with exhibitions dedicated to the subjective or interpretive aspects of our world so visitors can explore the delicate balance of life on earth and its natural history – galleries and spaces in which to present, interpret and study the Museum’s extraordinary collection of artifacts and exhibits. 

Museum Exhibitions 

The Natural History Museum of Utah houses the state’s world-class collections in new exhibitions designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA) and offers more than 41,300 square feet of gallery and education space, including The Canyon where some Museum theater pieces will be performed. By embracing the tools of modern architecture, exhibition design and media, the re-envisioned Museum presents a fresh, fascinating and immersive journey through the natural formation of life and land around Salt Lake City and throughout the state of Utah. 

The Museum’s collections form the basis for all of the Museum's educational functions, from public exhibits and programming to scholarly research and publication. Its systematic collections in the fields of earth sciences, biology and anthropology rank among the largest and most comprehensive in the western United States. While emphasizing the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, they also include material from throughout the world. Ongoing development of these collections is directed toward strengthening their comprehensive regional coverage and increasing their significance and accessibility to all communities. 

The new Museum's exhibitions tap its vast collections in new ways and aim to put more of Utah's treasures on display. This is done in a set of interdisciplinary galleries that explore the diverse ways in which we understand our world. The selection of objects necessitated a careful analysis of the Museum’s existing collections – some of which had never been seen by the public – and a convergence of traditional perspectives to tell a more nuanced story. Nine dedicated, thematic exhibition galleries explore the Sky, Native Voices, Life, Land, First Peoples,  Lake (Great Salt Lake),  Past Worlds, Our Backyard and Utah's Futures. Each gallery draws from several scientific disciplines and collections, as well as from the humanities. 

The Rio Tinto Center will offer several free areas in the Museum building: The Canyon, boasting expansive views of the valley; the Museum Store; and the Museum Café, with indoor/outdoor seating and access to the University of Utah’s Wi-Fi network.

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TEL AVIV MUSEUM OF ART ADDS SPLENDID NEW WING

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art's new Herta and Paul Amir Building opened to the public this month after a series of special events, including concerts, an architecture symposium and a gala ceremony lead by Israeli President Shimon Peres.Designed by Preston Scott Cohen, the 195,000-square-foot concrete-and-glass building combines Mendelsohn and Bauhaus architecture styles, and doubles the size of Israel's largest contemporary art museum. The museum is centered around a spiraling 87-foot-high atrium known as the "Lightfall" and features five levels with rectangular galleries using natural light.

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is home to a comprehensive collection of Israeli artworks representing all major trends and artists. A selection of some 250 works by Israeli artists dating from 1906 to the present will be on view at the Amir Building, creating the country's largest permanent installation of Israeli art. The Amir Building is also currently hosting an array of art, photography and design exhibitions, including:

• Utopias of Expressionism and Cure by Expression: A pair of exhibitions featuring a selection of print and photographic works from the museum's German Expressionism collection

• Library by Chanan DeLange and Circle by Yaakov Kaufman: Exhibitions focusing on Israeli design

• Five Moments: Trajectories in the Architecture of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art: Organized by guest curators Jascha Grobman and Ariel Blonder. This display explores the historical context of the design of the major structures of the museum ranging from the original Dizengoff House (1932) to the new Herta and Paul Amir Building 
•  
  "The opening of the Herta and Paul Amir Building was a monumental event that has further established Tel Aviv as one of the world's leading art and travel destinations," said Haim Gutin, Israel Commissioner of Tourim, North and South America, "and exemplifies the city's commitment to the arts and its prominence as Israel's capital of culture."

  The museum will also host a site-specific exhibition entitled Shevirat Ha-Kelim: The Breaking of the Vessels, featuring new works by Anselm Kiefer, including large-scale paintings, sculptures, woodcuts and installations based on the themes of Jewish history and mysticism. To know more, visit www.tamuseum.com

El Greco and Modernism:  Düsseldorf’s Museum Kunstpalast Examines the Artist’s Influence on Young Modernism

Almost 100 years after the young Modernism movement first encountered El Greco’s work in Düsseldorf, the artist’s work returns to the city in the first-ever comprehensive exhibit in Germany at Museum Kunstpalast. 

Düsseldorf, Germany – Many of Modernism’s great artists name the Greek 16^th Century painter El Greco as a major source of inspiration and fascination, including Cezanne, van Gogh, Picasso, Delauney, Macke, and Marc. About 100 works by them and other modernist painters will be juxtaposed with 40 of El Greco’s original works from major international collections, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Metropolitan Museum of Art at Museum Kunstpalast from April 28 – August 12, 2012. 

The show not only explores the influence that El Greco’s genius had on Modernism, it is also the first major exhibit in Germany to focus on the artist. It focuses on works by El Greco that speak to the particular psychology of that time and incorporates various motifs in his art, including portraits, landscapes, and religion.  

It was almost 100 years ago that many artists of the young Modernism movement were first exposed to El Greco’s art in Düsseldorf, Paris, Budapest, and other places in which El Greco’s art experienced a renaissance.  Many of those artists were born in the 1880s, like Oskar Kokoschka, Max Oppenheimer, Max Beckman, and Ludwig Meidner.  The upcoming exhibit both marks the anniversary of this encounter and shows the influence it has had on many aspect of expressionism since then. 

The extraordinary relationship between human figure and space in the world of El Greco’s images helped those avant-garde artists move into new expressions in their art, like abstractness, or the emotional state of a modern self, such as the existentialism felt by many at the time, and made El Greco one of the key figures of Modernism around 1910. 

The exhibit will include works from some of the world’s major museums and collections, among them New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and Hispanic Society of America; The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA; and many others.

For more information on the exhibit and Museum Kunstpalast, visit www.smkp.de

For hotel and travel specials, called “Art in Düsseldorf,” offered by the city’s tourism office, see the travel offers page on www.visitduesseldorf.de.

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Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourism GmbH is the visitors and convention bureau of the city of Düsseldorf. Its responsibilities include tourism and city marketing, as well as conference and meeting marketing, hotel reservation services, fairs and convention services, city event ticket sales and advance ticket reservations. For more information, visit www.visitduesseldorf.de.                                           

Düsseldorf International Airport, Germany’s third largest, offers several non-stop flights from US & Canadian cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Ft. Myers, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver), as well as convenient connections to many European cities.   For more information about the airport, visit www.fly2dus.com.