Sarah G. Sonner

“Sponsorship and Funding for the Ballets Russes”

Feature spread in the publication accompanying the exhibition Serge Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1909 – 1929 (V&A Publications, 2010)

This essay was based on original research using Diaghilev’s business archives, and reveals how he exploited a network of funders to ensure that the Ballets Russes had enough money to stage performances around the world and produce revolutionary works that united dance, art, and music into a total theatrical experience.

As part of a review of the exhibition itself, my essay was quoted in The New York Times.

In 2011-12 I was part of a team surveying the American Philosophical Society’s Museum and Library collections to assess potential future exhibition topics drawn from the collections.

Working together with a historian of science, I discovered a group of beautiful, detailed watercolors and notes documenting early drawings of the fluid movement in plants by an artist and inventor named Cornelius Varley.

These works were created with a drawing instrument of Varley’s own invention, and had not been seen since their acquisition nearly 40 years earlier. Our exhibition proposal developed the overall concept, main themes of invention, close observation, and mix of artistic expression and scientific discovery, collecting works and select loans together into an exhibit proposal that was later realized as the APS Museum’s main exhibit in 2013.

I'm an accomplished writer and editor of gallery text, and I've contributed research and writing to the interpretation and didactics for multiple museum exhibits.

For Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes 1909-1929, I researched the route of the Trans-Siberian Railway as it would have been during Diaghilev's youth in Russia. This provided the content for a large wall graphic, seen in the installation view above, which helped set nearby object displays in the context of Imperial Russia.

I adapted Spirited: Prohibition in America for NEH on the Road from the National Constitution Center’s flagship exhibition, American Spirits: the Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

  In this exhibit, I organized complex and detailed scholarship within a 2,000 ft2 space. I researched and developed content that venues in small towns across the U.S. could relate to their collections and communities, and I also drew on original research to explore the significance of women’s role in Prohibition.

  I adopted a layered approach to the interpretation, adapting and editing multiple exhibition parts into versatile hands-on components, and condensing audio-visual elements into integrated displays juxtaposed with focused object groups, as in the "Speakeasy" wall piece above, using artifacts and imagery acquired especially for the NEH version of the show.

  I received feedback from visitors and host venues that the objects in the show, their presentation, and the interpretation combined in an appealing, relatable exhibition that connects visitors with this important era in U.S. history.

I adapted Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints from an exhibition originated by Con/Vida - Popular Arts of the Americas and the Charles H. Wright Museum for African American History.

I developed multiple new visitor interactives for this NEH on the Road traveling exhibit. For the “Church of the Bonfim” section (at left) I had an idea to capture visitor feedback and increase engagement with this section’s focus on Brazilian religious history—I came up with a proposal to have visitors tie on a message, wish, or hope to a “gate” in the exhibit, patterned after a tradition in Salvador. I supervised an intern and exhibits staff to prototype, modify, and finalize the components, drawing on staff expertise and visitor tests.

I also worked with an app developer and designer to create an audio-visual touchscreen interactive exploring the variety of musical and dance traditions in Brazil. The simple, intuitive interface we developed allowed visitors to select a short video and learn more about the traditions of this diverse region (and its similarities and contrasts to U.S. culture), as well as how these relate to the African diaspora in North and South America.

For Diaghilev and the Golden Age of the Ballets Russes 1909 – 1929, we needed to develop an A/V that drew visitors “inside Diaghilev’s brain,” showing his diverse influences.

I supervised a team of interns and directed research into historical topics and images of Diaghilev’s cultural, literary, and personal influences; planned a schedule for photography and R&R clearance; sourced content; and worked with an A/V contractor to assemble them in a structured sequence, prototype, and edit the final results. These provided gallery visitors with an immersive, impressionistic feel, in keeping with the goals for this piece of a complex multi-gallery exhibition.

I coordinated planning and delivery of a multi-day international symposium at the American Philosophical Society Museum.

I researched and recruited multiple scholars, delegated and prioritized an assistant’s work, organized museum staff help and logistics, and guided the publication of the proceedings through its planning phase. I also cleared rights and reproductions and organized essay and picture information.

I was really pleased to hear multiple symposium participants comment afterwards that it was the best-run conference of its kind they’d ever attended.

I have primary responsibility for curating and project managing this traveling exhibit initiative, developed in partnership with the NEH Office of Public Programs. As part of this, I:

•Lead exhibits teams, manage contractors, supervise project development

•Plan timelines, prioritize work plan for staff and contractors, manage deadlines

•Develop and manage multiple exhibitions simultaneously

•Lead exhibit selection and make recommendations to the NEH for adaptation for nationwide tour

•Monitor budget lines and contribute narratives to grant applications and reports