NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale to Present Talk by David A. Ross, Renowned Arts Leader and Educator: Saturday, April 18

(Fort Lauderdale, FL – March 30, 2015) – NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale and its AutoNation Academy of Art and Design will present a talk by David A. Ross, Chair of the innovative MFA program in Art Practice at New York’s School of Visual Art, on Saturday, April 18 at 2 pm. A renowned lecturer, educator and widely published author, Ross has also served as Director of Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art, New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Ross will discuss the need to re-imagine the purpose of art education, based on the notion that the true history of art is the history of the purpose of art.

The talk is free with museum admission (free for members, NSU students, faculty, staff; $12 adults; $8 seniors, military, students) and will take place in the Horvitz Auditorium, One East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale. For tickets, call 954-262-0204 or visit nsuartmuseum.org.

Ross’s lecture is the inaugural event for The Art of Teaching Art conference that will take place in Fall 2015. Presented by NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale’s AutoNation Academy of Art + Design, the conference will explore innovative methodologies in art education and introduce participants to some of today’s most advanced educational methods for inspiring creativity and honing artistic practice. The conference will feature presentations by leading national and local artists and educators and participatory workshops in the museum’s studio school, the AutoNation Academy of Art + Design.

“The conference will place NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, its AutoNation Academy of Art + Design and Nova Southeastern University at the forefront of innovative art education,” said Bonnie Clearwater, Director and Chief Curator NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale.

David Ross’s lecture and the Art of Teaching Art conference are made possible by a generous donation from Conni Gordon, the pioneering art educator and television personality who developed a groundbreaking teaching method and approach to stimulating creativity that has empowered over 17 million people.

David A. Ross has a 40-year career as an art museum professional and educator. Since 2009, he has served as Chair of the MFA program in Art Practice at the School of Visual Art in New York, which takes a fully interdisciplinary approach to an MFA degree and does not define or separate artists in the program by medium or discipline. The program recognizes that artists may pursue their practice by engaging an idea first, and then developing a plan that may involve a combination of media, technologies and techniques, some of which are linked to traditional art media, and some of which find the artists working with technologies and industries not usually associated with artmaking.

In addition to his museum directorships, Ross has held curatorial and senior leadership positions at the Everson Museum of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art and the University Art Museum at UC Berkeley. He was also the co-founder and president of the Artists’ Pension Trust and has taught at Columbia University, Harvard University, University of California, San Diego, and San Francisco Art Institute, and has served as juror and commissioner at a broad range of international shows and exhibitions.

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is located at One East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale. For additional information, please visit nsuartmuseum.org or call 954-525-5500.

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale
A premier destination for the visual arts, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is located midway between Miami and Palm Beach in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale’s entertainment district. Its 83,000 square-foot modernist building was designed by renowned architect Edward Larrabee Barnes. In 2008, the museum became part of Nova Southeastern University, one of the largest private research universities in the U.S., and in 2013, Bonnie Clearwater joined the museum as its Director and Chief Curator where she is leading the museum on an exciting phase of growth and transformation. NSU Art Museum’s permanent collection contains more than 6,000 works, including notable works by leading Latin and Latin-American artists; the largest holdings in the U.S. of works by post-war, avant-garde European Cobra artists; and single largest collection of works and archival materials by the American painter William Glackens.

AutoNation Academy of Art + Design
An integral part of NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, the AutoNation Academy of Art + Design offers a comprehensive education program that includes studio instruction for all ages. Courses taught by practicing artists sharpen students’ critical and analytical skills and provide valuable connections to the Art Museum’s exhibitions, esteemed visiting artists, permanent collection, professional staff and resources of Nova Southeastern University. Students of all experience levels master new techniques and skills, and participate in critiques, discussions and tours that stimulate creativity. The Academy’s interdisciplinary approach to art and design inspires experimentation within multiple disciplines and collaborations with other students and professional artists. Outstanding opportunities and resources for professional artists to expand their practice and include open studios, master classes, critiques and art history seminars.

Funding for NSU Art Museum’s AutoNation Academy of Art + Design provided by AutoNation
Additional Support provided by the Joseph and Winifred Amaturo Education Foundation, Beaux Arts, Community Foundation of Broward, , Joan and Milton Baxt Foundation, Friends of NSU Art Museum, Lillian S. Wells Foundation, Mary N. Porter Designated Fund of Community Foundation of Broward, PNC Foundation, Wells Fargo, Jerry Taylor & Nancy Bryant Foundation, BBX Capital Foundation, The Retina Group of Florida and Dr. Scott R. Anagnoste. The AutoNation Academy of Art + Design is also supported by a matching grant from the David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation.