I served as a liaison between the museum and the Ambassadors, who are a group of dedicated women who volunteer in support of the museum. Art in Food spanned 10 days and was held in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion. Designed by the Japanese architectural firm SANAA, the Glass Pavlion is an award-winning building that houses the museum's encyclopedic glass art collection.
The Ambassadors worked with museum staff members to plan a menu of events that offered something for everyone's taste.
31,849 pounds of food were donated by individuals and companies. Food was then distributed to local food banks.
Bill Yosses, the former White House pastry chef and Toledo-native gave a lecture and food demo to launch the Art in Food series of events. 325 people attended his lecture.
Glass Alive! featured a Glass Fashion Show and live auction of glass artwork that was made in the Glass Pavilion's Hot Shop. It was an evening of glitz, glamour, and glass. 176 people attended and there were an additional 35 models who wore outfits made of glass and modeled them on the runway.
This was a free event at the Glass Pavilion, with a large birthday cake, large-scale puppets, art activities, a screening of "Ratatouille," tours of the Glass Pavilion, food trucks, art vendors, and a book signing of "Toledo Museum of Art: Glass Pavilion," published in 2016.
The museum young professionals group Circle 2445 planned this event in conjunction with Art in Food. The event was held in the GlasSalon of the Glass Pavilion. Modeled after Food Network's Chopped! show, area bartenders were invited to concoct cocktails in response to artwork on the screen. After five elimination rounds, the winning bartender was chosen.
Our curator of glass and decorative arts and our chef worked together to concoct a five-course menu inspired by glass artwork. A wine sommelier paired wine with each course. The dinner was held in the GlasSalon of the Glass Pavilion with 96 people in attendance.
An artist from the Glass Pavilion Hot Shop created a unique set of dinnerware that was raffled to the public.
16 tablescapes were created in response to artwork in the museum's permanent collection.