Ingrid Calame- On November 1, the IMA opened our latest Forefront show Traces of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by Ingrid Calame. Calame opened the evening with an engaging and entertaining discussion of her artwork. Her focus on her techniques and methods was especially interesting. Calame’s final works are wonderful without context, but I think that understanding her work process makes this exhibition all the more astonishing. If you missed the artist’s talk at the IMA, you can read the article that the New York Times ran at the end of October featuring her work in Indianapolis. Check it out by clicking here .

You can also view images from the opening event at our flickr site

Miami- The morning after the Ingrid Calame opening event, I caught a flight to Miami and headed to the National Arts Marketing Project Conference presented by Americans for the Arts. During the day, I spent my time attending sessions on Web 2.0 and market research. At night, I spent my time hanging out in South Beach. On Sunday, November 3 I presented in an informational forum the NAMP Conference folks dubbed “The Mosh Pit”. Basically it was a chance to present creative and effective communications strategies in an informal setting. I presented on behalf of the IMA on the effective use of video as a communications tool. Distributing hot pink and teal DVDs containing some the “Nugget Factory’s” greatest productions, I spent the entire 4 hours with a crowd of fellow arts marketers inquiring about how they can produce videos. It was nice to share our experiences. It was great to hear about other organizations’ experiences. Ultimately, it reminded me as to how far the IMA has come since our first ever YouTube posting in June 2006. I took some pictures at the conference and posted them to the IMA’s Flickr account. You can check them out by clicking here.

San Francisco- So after the conference in Miami, I flew to San Francisco for vacation. While I wanted to, I couldn’t completely shut off my work brain so while in San Fran I spent a few days exploring the DeYoung (I LOVE GOLDEN GATE PARK!), Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and SFMOMA. Of all the great art that I saw during my adventures, my favorite piece was a video work by Rineke Dijkstra titled The Buzz Club, Liverpool, England/Mysteryworld, Zaandam, Netherlands, 1996–97. The work is both humorous and haunting as it depicts teens from two different night clubs (one in England, one in the Netherlands). It is definitely a highlight of SFMOMA’s collection.

Back to Indianapolis-I worked two 3-day weeks before leaving again for Thanksgiving. Basically, I spent those days replying to emails, updating content on the IMA’s Dashboard, writing surveys and working on communication plans for 2008.

Hometown for Thanksgiving-Not much to report. I ate too much of my mom’s homecooking, napped more than I have since I was a toddler, and worked with my family on the design, construction and implementation of our Turkey Trebuchet (I have an entertaining family!). Since I’ve mentioned my VW’s dashboard in a previous blog, I thought I would share an image from my trip back from Southern Indiana. It’s not often that you can capture such a significant moment in a car’s life. I’m glad I had my camera handy!

So that’s my November! My December will be action packed as well. We’re launching an online survey and an onsite survey. I’ll talk more about that next time, but in the mean time, if you have anything you would like to share about the IMA’s new Web site, please feel free to email us at web@imamuseum.org or you can just respond to this blog. We’d love to hear from you!

For more than 5 years, I didn’t think another dashboard could rival my Passat’s for coolness. And while it may not be exactly the same thing, I think the IMA’s new dashboard might just do it. So what’s so cool about our dashboard? We’re really the first museum in the world to use technology like this. The public now has access to statistics about attendance, the art collection and even our budget. For instance, folks can check to see how much we have spent so far this year and how it relates to what we projected in our 2007 budget. Visitors can also check to see how many people have visited Roman Art from the Louvre or shopped in the IMA Shop. For better or for worse, the IMA’s dashboard let’s you see the IMA from the inside. Just like my Passat’s dashboard at night, I hope that the IMA’s dash will show a different side of the Museum that people wouldn’t normally expect. We will constantly be updating the information on the site so check back. We may just surprise you with our coolness!

Speaking of coolness, I spent a good 30 minutes today discussing beer coozies with the IMA’s curator of contemporary art, Lisa Freiman. WHAT?! Let me explain…On November 1, the IMA is having an opening event for the next Forefront show, Ingrid Calame: Traces of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . Calame will speak at 7:00 pm about her work. Following the lecture, the IMA is throwing our own version of an “infield” party. We’re going to have kegs, tailgating food and yes, coozies. Here’s the details:

Join us for Opening Night / Thursday, November 1
7:00 pm ARTIST TALK
On the opening night of her exhibition, Calame discusses her work. Supported in part by the IMA Contemporary Art Society.

8:00 – 11:00 pm PARTY
Check out the exhibition – open until 9:00 pm – and then join us in our own infield in Pulliam Great Hall for a cash bar, light snacks, and the music of The Twin Cats. Special thanks to Lee Adams Tire.

IMA Members: FREE / Students with ID: $5 / Public: $10
RSVP for the party by Thursday, October 25 by calling 317-920-2651.