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Pardee Homes sponsors the Natural History Museum's dinos and volunteer openings abound |
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This month at the San Diego Museum of Art, Balboa Park visitors can take a rare look inside the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which served for 400 years as the royal home to the Ottoman sultans. "Palace of Gold & Light: Treasures from the Topkapi, Istanbul" features more than 200 imperial treasures from the 15th to the 19th centuries, such as jewel-encrusted ceremonial objects, wool and silk carpets, armor, weaponry, Chinese porcelains and much more. The touring exhibition, organized by the Washington, D.C., Palace Arts Foundation Inc. in cooperation with the Republic of Turkey, this year visits just three U.S. museums, including its July 14 to Sept. 24 stint at the Museum of Art. "It’s the first large-scale exhibition devoted to Ottoman culture in many years," says Steven Kern, the Museum of Art curator of European art who coordinated the collection's San Diego appearance. "It’s a generous loan to the United States made possible by the Ministry of Culture in Turkey." At its last stop at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., 50,000 people attended the exhibition. Ellen Efsic, the Museum of Art's deputy director, institutional advancement, expects double that number to attend here, especially since it occurs at the height of tourist season. The display travels to The Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale in the fall. Kern says as with all Museum of Art shows, "Palace of Gold & Light" is an effort to bring new, exciting and diverse material to San Diego. "We present a balanced exhibition schedule that brings lots of different things into the city for the visitors and residents." Yet it’s the vast range of the Ottoman legacy, both in geographic and chronological scope, that makes this exhibition a standout. "The Ottoman empire, which spans three continents — the western part of Asia, a significant portion of Eastern Europe and all of North Africa — had a 700-year history," Kern says. "It was enriched by the area and also enriched the areas around it." The styles and objects came together from as far away as Poland, Iran and Egypt, and give a new understanding of this elaborate and ethnically diverse people who ruled between the 13th and 20th centuries. "You can see that in the different media in the exhibition — textiles, gold work, precious metals, gems, utilitarian and decorative objects, books and manuscripts," Kern says, noting that many of these objects have never been outside the palace walls. The artistic and cultural influences running between Turkey and Europe, and later, from Europe to America, during the exhibition's 15th to 19th century time frame are another appeal. "It spans such an important part of European history," Kern says. "The cultural dialogue that existed between the Ottoman empire and Western Europe, with direct pipelines of culture from Istanbul to Paris, for example, and then the transfer of culture in the 17th and 18th century into America." You can transfer into the "Palace of Gold & Light" during the museum's special expanded hours for the exhibition, Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Thursday evenings, special programming related to the display is presented, and the museum remains open until 9 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, students and active duty military, $4 for kids ages 6 to 17, and free for 5 and under. An audio guide can be purchased for $3. Call (619) 232-7931 or click on sdmart.com for more information. *** A two-year grant of $87,982 was awarded to the San Diego Historical Society by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The money will be used to arrange, describe and rehouse more than 120 photographic collections documenting the 1870-1990 period. The Historical Society received the country's fourth-largest single grant in the awards competition, in which 5.2 million is allocated to 54 institutions. Important historians such as the Archivist of the United States, Librarian of Congress, director of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, Supreme Court Justice David Souter and presidential appointees make up the NHPRC, with a goal to advance archival research, collection and preservation. You can view the San Diego Historical Society's collection this month Tuesday though Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the society will be closed in August for cataloging. *** Developer Pardee Homes will give more than 1,500 local students an opportunity to see the San Diego Natural History Museum's "The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park: The Lost World" collection through a $25,000 contribution, which is part of its supporting sponsorship of the exhibit. A portion of the money went to the museum's access fund, which allows children from Title One, or financially disadvantaged, schools access to the museum. Through Pardee's sponsorship, 375 students from Smythe Elementary, 630 students from Juarez-Lincoln Elementary, 80 students from Carmel Del Mar Elementary and 150 students from Morning Creek Elementary have scheduled field trips to learn more about the prehistoric dinosaur period. All the schools serve Pardee communities, and Smythe and Juarez-Lincoln elementaries are Title One schools. "The Lost World" is on view through Sept. 10. *** Also at the Natural History, applications are being accepted for the museum's 2000-2001 volunteer canyoneer and docent programs. Museum staff and other regional experts train canyoneers on area flora, fauna and geology so that they may guide public hikes at more than 60 San Diego County locations. Docents are similarly trained to lead educational programs and special presentations for seniors, scouts and community groups, and give in-museum tours. The volunteers must be 18 years old, and are required to submit applications by July 15 for canyoneers and Sept. 1 for docents. Contact MaryLynn Mack at (619) 232-3821, Ext. 245 or resister online at sdnhm.org. In addition, Balboa Park's park ranger Volunteer Trail Crew is recruiting members to maintain and replant trails in Florida Canyon. Call (619) 235-1121. *** Balboa summer bits: Don't miss handmade pottery, jewelry, sand art, soaps and more when the Casa del Prado Patio hosts the Balboa Park Summer Craft Fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 15; San Diego Civic Youth Ballet dancers will perform creative dance works influenced by choreography and technique classes during the Aug. 1 "Twilight in the Park" concert at Spreckels Organ Pavilion beginning at 6:15 p.m.; now through fall the free Balboa Park tram operates on an extended schedule with two trams running Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and three running on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. |
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