The Ringling Welcomes Elizabeth Doud as Inaugural Currie-Kohlmann Curator of Performance

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art has announced Elizabeth Doud as the new Currie-Kohlmann Curator of Performance. In her new position Doud will curate the performing arts at The Ringling including the New Stages series.

Doud is a Florida-based arts professional, scholar and multi-disciplinary theater artist with a background in creative writing and contemporary performance practice. She has worked extensively throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean in the performing arts during her 20-plus years of experience as an arts organizer, presenter and educator, with an emphasis on international cultural exchange and climate arts.

 “It is a great honor to be joining The Ringling’s curatorial staff and its incredible legacy,” Doud commented. “I look forward to serving this organization and Sarasota through the presentation of world-class artists who bring dynamic and inspiring contemporary performance to the area’s diverse audiences in contexts where cultural celebration, learning and community building are integral to annual programming.”

The Ringling’s curator of performance position is supported by the Shank Family Foundation Endowment, created by the 2018 gift from Stephen and Judith Shank, M.D. The Shank Family Foundation named the position the Currie-Kohlmann Curator of Performance in honor of Dwight Currie and Michael Kohlmann and their contributions to the performing arts program at The Ringling.

Doud’s performance projects include Climakaze Miami with FUNDarte in 2015. Her projects have been commissioned and presented by Miami Light Project, FUNDarte, Diverse Works and MACLA, among other supporters. From 2005-2018, she led the Performing Americas Program of the National Performance Network. She has been a development consultant for arts organizations including the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. Her latest ongoing artistic project is an eco-performance entitled The Mermaid Tear Factory, which toured in Brazil, Cuba and South Florida during 2015-2018 with production support of the State Secretary of Culture of Bahia. 

      Doud’s academic leadership roles include serving as artistic director of the Cultura del Lobo Series at Miami Dade College from 2009-2011. In 2017 she was visiting professor/practitioner at the Rapoport Center for Human Rights at the University of Texas in Austin. She co-organized the HowlRound Challenge Convening Theatre in the Age of Climate Change at Emerson College in 2018. 

 In 2018 Doud received a Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Grant. Among her other awards and recognitions, she received a State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship for 2011. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Miami, and a Ph.D in Performing Arts from the Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. 

 “We look forward to welcoming Elizabeth to the curatorial team at The Ringling,” said Executive Director Steven High. “Since the museum’s first director Chick Austin began the rich tradition of performing arts at The Ringling, the program has continued to grow and develop into new, dynamic offerings for our audiences; we are excited to see where Elizabeth takes it next.”