ARTIS—NAPLES PRESENTS COURTNEY McNEIL

ARTIS—NAPLES ANNOUNCES COURTNEY McNEIL

AS MUSEUM DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CURATOR

OF THE BAKER MUSEUM

Artis—Naples announced today the appointment of Courtney McNeil as Museum Director and Chief Curator of The Baker Museum. McNeil joins Artis—Naples from Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia, where she worked for nearly 15 years. During that time, she had progressive responsibilities including serving as Curator of Fine Arts and Exhibitions, Chief Curator & Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and, most recently, as Interim Co-Managing Director. At Telfair Museums, McNeil curated dozens of exhibitions including Collecting Impressionism: Telfair’s Modern Vision and Mickalene Thomas at Giverny.

After a nationwide search process, McNeil was the unanimous choice of the search committee, which included Members  of the Artis—Naples Board of Directors, the Museum Board Committee and Artis─Naples administrative staff.

Kathleen van Bergen
CEO and President

CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen said, “We are thrilled to welcome such a talented, thoughtful and collaborative leader to the Artis─Naples team. Courtney’s expertise in the visual arts and proven track record of leadership and creativity make her a perfect fit for this role.

Between the recent completion of the repair and expansion of The Baker Museum and this appointment, we have clearly entered an exciting new phase in the ongoing growth and evolution of The Baker Museum.” McNeil said, “I am honored and delighted to be joining Artis—Naples and The Baker Museum at this exciting moment in the organization’s history. As the museum enters its third decade and welcomes visitors to its newly expanded facility, I look forward to continuing to develop its reputation for world-class collections, compelling exhibitions and engaging programming.”

A graduate of Georgetown University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, McNeil will be moving to Naples with her husband and three sons. She will begin her role on January 18, 2021. The Baker Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary season this year and reopened to the general public on November 1 with timed-entry tickets and reduced capacity due to COVID-19. The museum expansion opened at the same time, having been completed earlier in the fall.

Anchoring the fall season is the third major exhibition in the history of The Baker Museum by American artist Dale Chihuly. Chihuly has long been associated with The Baker Museum, including an exhibition of his works that was featured when the museum opened in November 2000, with Chihuly himself attending the inaugural festivities. Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now, includes stunning artworks presented in The Baker Museum as well as around the cultural campus.

In addition to Dreaming Forms: Chihuly Then and Now, this fall The Baker Museum also features the exhibitions Subject Matters: Selections from the Permanent Collection, Rodin: Truth Form Life / Selections from the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Collections and Magritte: Reflections of Another World – Paintings from the Van Parys Family. Exhibitions for later in the 2020-21 season will be announced at a later date.

ARTIS—NAPLES

Home of The Baker Museum and the Naples Philharmonic, Artis—Naples is unique among cultural institutions nationwide, equally dedicated to both the visual and performing arts featuring artists of global distinction.

KIMBERLY K. QUERREY and LOUIS A. SIMPSON CULTURAL CAMPUS

Led by CEO and President Kathleen van Bergen and Sharon and Timothy Ubben Music Director Andrey Boreyko, we typically offer audiences more than 800 paid and free events annually within a variety of venues and settings situated throughout the 8.5-acre Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus. Artis—Naples welcomes thousands of visitors each year for a broad array of artistic and educational opportunities perfect for audiences of  all backgrounds and interests. The Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus is home to five buildings, including two performance halls (Frances Pew Hayes Hall and Myra J. Daniels Pavilion), The Baker Museum, the Toni Stabile Education Building and the Kohan Administration Building.

In the 2014-15 season, Andrey Boreyko assumed the title of Music Director and serves in this capacity for Artis—Naples. Boreyko is internationally recognized as one of the most exciting and dynamic conductors working today. This appointment, extended through 2022, marks his first American post. The Wall Street Journal says van Bergen and Boreyko have ushered in “an impressive new phase” for classical music in Southwest Florida.

NAPLES PHILHARMONIC

The Naples Philharmonic has long been recognized as one of the cornerstones of Southwest Florida’s arts community. As part of Artis—Naples, the Naples Philharmonic typically performs more than 140 orchestral and chamber music concerts, as well as opera and ballet, education, community and special event concerts annually between September and June in the 1,477-seat

Hayes Hall, the 283-seat Daniels Pavilion and around the Southwest Florida region. Jack Everly is Principal Pops Conductor and in the 2020-21 season celebrates 11 years in this role, bringing pops performances that celebrate music in its many forms. In 2017, Romanian conductor Radu Paponiu was named Assistant Conductor of the Naples Philharmonic and director of the Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and in 2019 was promoted to Associate Conductor.

THE BAKER MUSEUM

The Baker Museum is one of the foremost fine art museums in Southwest Florida. The museum hosts several traveling exhibitions annually to complement installations of works from its permanent collection. Comprising more than 4,000 objects, the museum’s broad holdings of 20th and 21st century art reflect the generosity and commitment of area collectors. Of particular strength are The Baker Museum’s collections of American and Mexican modern art and significant gifts from the personal collection of Olga Hirshhorn.

With almost two decades of collecting and exhibiting, the museum is dedicated to stewardship and scholarship from both its growing permanent collection and outside sources. At the same time, The Baker Museum seeks out the best traveling exhibitions from the leading arts institutions in the world—including recently the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institutions and École des Beaux-Arts, Paris—to enrich the Southwest Florida community.

The Baker Museum exhibitions reopened to the public on December 1, 2019, after being closed for more than two years in the wake of Hurricane Irma. The repair of the museum was paired with a simultaneous expansion of the building to the south, which created new spaces for multidisciplinary exploration and social interaction.

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY

In addition to creating and presenting visual and performing arts, Artis—Naples provides robust education and community activities for students of all ages. Typically, thousands of Collier County Public Schools interact with Artis—Naples education programming each year both on its cultural campus and in classrooms. The Lifelong Learning program provides engaging lectures and study opportunities for adults seeking to engage more deeply with the arts.

The Friends of Artis—Naples, with more than 4,000 households who give more than $75, offers activities, travel experiences and events geared toward creating a deeper relationship between patrons and the arts.

In 2017, Artis—Naples acquired the Naples International Film Festival (NIFF), expanding its film offerings and providing a platform for the festival’s continued excellence and growth. In 2018, NIFF celebrated its tenth year in the community, and in 2019, NIFF was named one of Movie Maker Magazine’s Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World.