A DREAM COME TRUE MULVANE MUSEUM AT WASHBURN

A DREAM COME TRUE
MULVANE MUSEUM AT WASHBURN UNIVERSITY, TOPEKA, KANSAS acquires
many Rita Blitt Drawings, Paintings, and Sculpture forming the Rita Blitt
Archive. October 2015
A Mulvane Museum addition, connected to the concert hall, will house
changing exhibitions of Rita Blitt art. This building will open in 2017.
Watch the video HERE.
Dr. Jerry Farley, President
Washburn University
“We found a match that will
permit us to honor the work of
your life and increase the
prestige of our university
because you are here with us.
Rita and Irwin, I want you to
know how honored we are to
announce today that you have
selected Washburn University
and our museum, the Mulvane,
as the permanent home of a
significant body of your life’s
work.”
FINDING CENTER
FINDING CENTER, a collaboration with choreographer David Parsons,
the Parsons Dance Company and Rita Blitt artist was presented in
Kansas City, June 2015. The Parsons Dance season with FINDING
CENTER will be at the Joyce Theater in NYC, Jan 20 through 30, 2016.
Watch the promo HERE.
"WOW!!!!!! What a wonderful experience it was to see your oval series
projected on the Kauffman Center stage on Saturday night... I was so drawn to
your work that I sometimes only felt the movement of the dancers while being
mesmerized by your creations…. The performance was a great success!!
Congratulations!” – Devon Carney, Artistic Director of the Kansas City
Ballet
NEW YORK PREMIERE of FINDING CENTER at the Joyce Theater,
January 20th–30, 2016. PARSONS DANCE COMPANY.
CONFLUENCE OF LOVE AND LEARNING
CONFLUENCE OF LOVE AND LEARNING was installed by Washburn University
alums in October 2015.
CONFLUENCE OF LOVE AND LEARNING, 2015,
bronze, 12' sculpture on a 4’ base.
SENDING LOVE
SENDING LOVE, was installed in the
center of the Skywalk Memorial Park,
designed to provide a place of
reflection for those affected by the
tragic hotel event in Kansas City,
Missouri, 1981. The names of the 114
people who lost their lives have been
inscribed in the twelve foot base of the
Blitt twelve foot sculpture. The
dedication ceremony paid tribute to
those who lost their lives and to the
first responders. November, 2015.
SENDING LOVE, Rita Blitt 2015, Stainless steel, 12 ‘ sculpture on a 12’ base.
ABYSS OF TIME
ABYSS OF TIME, a 25 minute film collaboration featuring music by
composer Michael Udow and art by Rita Blitt, was screened at the
University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana with Udow music performed
by the University of Illinois Symphony orchestra under the direction of
Donald Schleicher, October 2015.
“Abyss of Time is an astonishingly beautiful integration of painting and
music. Watching it is an experience akin to drifting through MOMA on
a cloud of mesmerizing music.”
-Martin Sherwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, University Professor of
History and Art History, George Mason University
An image from the 25 min. film, ABYSS OF TIME, which
premiered in Asia, New York and Aspen, Colorado in 2013
ART BLITTz
ART BLITTz is an initiative by artist Rita Blitt designed to share her work with
nonprofit organizations in need of art to beautify and enliven their spaces.
“I look forward to walking our halls and experiencing first hand the thousands of
employees, children and families inspired as they take in your timeless art…It is
truly an honor and a privilege to integrate your work within the programs and
services we provide."
Jason Hopper, President, KVC Hospitals
One of many works of Blitt art given to KVC hospitals from Art Blittz.
UNBELIEVABLE SURPRISE FROM AUSTRALIA!
Dear Marianna,
"A little Birdie” told me a beautiful
story of a very kind, wonderful woman
who is taking care of my sculpture in
far away Australia. I could not believe
the beauty of this gesture. -RB
LIBERTY, Rita Blitt, 2001, stainless steel,
7’x5’x2.5’, Gold Coast Regional Art
Center, Surfer’s Paradise, Australia
TRIO FINDS A NEW HOME
"It is quite an honor to have your art become a part of the fabric of
Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center and the east side of Kansas City."
– Hilda Fuentes, SURHC President
TRIO, 1980-2015, 26’, painted steel.
INSPIRATION FOR ALL AGES
"We ended up doing a “Caught in Markers” last week with some of our dance
campers in 1st-4th grade. We started off with watching “Caught in Paint” and
then we were lucky enough to go down to the theatre and see so many of her
original works! It was so wonderful to hear our 9 year olds say, “WOW!! She is
SO COOL!” and see their excitement for art. We walked through the building, and
I even had students say things like “hey, did she make that?” and they were
recognizing her work. It was amazing! Afterwards, we came back to the studio
and we did our own Rita Blitt art. The students displayed their work and then we
used those drawing to create our own movement. They asked me if she would see
their work, and I told them that I thought she would love to see it. It was an
amazing experience, and I’m sure we will do it again with camp in a couple of
weeks and then we are hoping to do the same activity with many of our classes in
September. Thank you very much for connecting us to such an important person in
our community!”
-Maggie Osgood Nicholls, Director of Encore School of the Arts
Dance campers at the Encore School of the Arts
HAPPY 2016!
Go to www.ritablitt.com/films to view FINDING
CENTER promo and ABYSS OF TIME full feature.